Alpha and Omega
by Xed Alpha
Summary: Long after the end came the next beginning. Something lost since time immemorial is about to return and two souls, so different and yet so alike, are set to clash. Rated M due to Violence and Sexual themes.
1. Chapter 1: Impact

[A/N] Okay, revised and updated this one a bit, chapters slightly modified and corrected as per your suggestions.

Okay, a few ground rules: I'm going to try and avoid going into which ending of ME3 this would have occurred after and just say it's 'after the end' and try to be as generic as possible without confronting that particular kettle of fish. The only thing I'd recommend is that you've watched End of Evangelion and know about the events of the Omega DLC from ME 3, though you could probably still get by without paying the additional £12 to play that, though it would help as this Aria is based upon the one with Paragon choices made with a few years to dwell all that's lost on top of that, Shinji on the other hand, has had substantially more, but..spoilers. UPDATE: Now rated M due to events in later chapters.

**Alpha and Omega**

**Chapter 1: Impact**

The atmosphere on board the bridge of Aria T'Loak's personal craft was tense to say the least. Backs were rigid in their seats and the crew; Asari, Turian, Human or otherwise, were all on edge.

Why was this?

It was because Aria herself was in a good mood. She stood in the centre of the bridge, arms folded with a smirk on her face, rocking gently on the balls of her heels.

And while the conscious minds of the crew told them that the reason for the de facto ruler of Omega's delight was not something to be wary of in this case, their instincts had long burned into them the association that anything that made Aria happy often meant something bad for someone else, and she rarely let that person know who they were until just before she killed them.

Aria regarded the endless field of the mass-free corridor as it ferried them between Relays. The ship was a former Cerberus cruiser named the Elbrus, and had come into Aria's possession after she liberated Omega from the shadowy organisation and expelled their forces from her home.

The surrendered soldiers had known better than to ask nicely if Aria minded letting them keep their battleship, and were instead content with the cargo containers they had been shipped back to Alliance space in.

They were just frankly shocked that they hadn't been loaded into an airlock and _literally_ expelled from Omega in a far more direct fashion.

Needless to say, like she had done with the Krogan Patriarch, Aria had taken great delight in assuming control of the ship and making it another trophy; a constant reminder of what happens to those who dared cross her.

Aria watched with anticipation as the field from the relay gave way to black as the ship emerged back into normal space.

The Pirate Queen's smile widened as the darkness was lit by a familiar orange glow in the distance.

The helmswoman, a young human woman with mousy hair, looked up from her console, "Jump complete, ma'am. We'll be docking with Omega in a little under ten minutes."

Aria nodded, "Splendid," the Asari replied, her eyes locked on her station as it closed in on them.

It was finally time, thought Aria with glee, _finally_ she was returning to Omega, for good this time.

Since Omega's recapture, Aria had allowed herself to remain in voluntary exile whilst reconstruction went on.

The Asari had once said this was due to it being 'easier to direct things whilst she wasn't there', and whilst this was a bizarre thing to say, it had indeed been at least partly true: Whist Aria _could've_ dealt with things just as easily if she were on hand, her rising tendency to issue (and carry out) death threats toward contractors who she felt were overcharging or falling behind schedule was starting to affect workplace morale and staff turnover.

Let it never be said Aria T'loak wasn't considerate toward the feelings of her subordinates.

Aria's focus was pulled away by the murmuring of her comms. officer, "Hmm, that's odd…"

Aria's attention turned to the officer, a serious looking Turian Talon whose name escaped her, "What is it?" she asked with borderline impatience, her eyes flicking to him out of her peripheral.

The stoic Turian seemed startled that he'd accidentally drawn her attention and quickly focused intently on his display, "O-oh, I'm sure it's nothing, ma'am. Just picking up some…strange activity coming from the relay."

Aria's brow furrowed slightly. She indeed _hoped_ this was nothing. The last thing Aria wanted was something marring her triumphant return; there was a vintage bottle of Noverian Rum waiting for her on Omega that the Asari could swear was screaming out to her across the void of space, and she really didn't want to keep it waiting a second longer than necessary, "What kind of activity?"

The Turian shook his head, "I'm not sure. For some reason the corridor has yet to close, but there were no ships within sensor radius before we entered it, so I don't know what could be holding it open like this."

Aria turned her gaze back forward, "It's probably nothing."

"As you say, ma'am," replied the officer.

Aria's eye twitched slightly. That was one of the prices you had to pay for domination through both fear and respect: people tended to agree with you a little too much, even if you might be wrong.

"Ma'am!" said the officer, a loud note of urgency in his voice.

Aria hissed a curse under her breath and crossed over to him, "What is it?" she demanded.

The Turian seemed far too concerned with his readout to care about the Asari's displeasure. She noted the graphical displays on his panel were going wild, "I'm detecting an energy surge coming from the relay! It's off the scale!"

"What?" she said, her eyes turning to the opposite window where the relay still loomed in the distance. The three rings around the Element Zero core were spinning rapidly; the orb of energy within glowed almost angrily.

She noted the swirling spot of light between the relay and the ship where the corridor emerged.

Both she and the crew flinched and looked away as a blinding flash of light was released from the relay core and the corridor end seemed to erupt outwards in a plume of ethereal light.

"Shockwave incoming!" called the comm officer.

Aria gripped a railing tightly to stop herself from being thrown across the bridge when the translucent wave hit, several of the other officers being hurled from their chairs.

"Report?" demanded the security officer.

"Minor casualties reported on three decks. Sensors are currently disrupted but no other damage reported." Responded the helmswoman hastily.

"Ma'am," said the Turian again, his voice still urgent.

"Oh, what the fuck now?" snarled Aria as she pulled herself back up.

"I've got a proximity alert! Something's emerged from the breach!"

"Through the relay?" asked Aria quickly.

"I'm not sure where it came from, ma'am. All I can tell you is that it's hurtling right this way!"

"Engaging evasive manoeuvres!" shouted the helm officer, her fingers flying over her console.

The ship veered violently off to the side and Aria found herself thrown over again as something clipped the side of the vessel, a huge mass of dark purple skimming by the viewport just above her.

Aria's hand shot up and she clawed herself back to her feet, "'The _fuck_ was that?" she demanded, her return now officially marred along with her ship's paintjob.

"I have no idea, ma'am. Sensor readings are still being distorted by the energy release," replied the comm officer as the ship righted itself.

Aria leaned over the railing in front of her and watched as the orange light of Omega's underbelly caught the shadowy form.

"By the goddess…" came the stunned voice of Aria's chief of security, "What is that?"

Aria was silently thankful for her subordinate voicing her own shock as she regarded the giant humanoid form as it tumbled gently through space at high speed.

"Omega is sending a collision alert! Their targeting sensors have been disrupted by the shockwave, they're requesting we open fire!"

"Well?" she snapped at her science officer.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, tactical systems are still coming back online! There's nothing we can do!"

Aria could do nothing other than curse and watch. She winced in sympathy as the humanoid shape impacted the side of her station, sending up a great cloud of debris.

Silence descended for a moment as the crew looked on.

"Damage reports are coming in!" shouted the comm officer, "Impact registered in cargo containment section 13B…" the Turian's voice suddenly relaxed, "which was currently not in use at this time. No immediate reports of any serious injuries or fatalities."

Aria permitted her shoulders to sag with relief. She was infuriated beyond reason at the scarring of the most important thing in the universe to her, but there had been no serious damage, nor loss of life.

She paused to wonder why she felt that was important, she had expected herself to be more concerned with the structural damage.

The face of one particular human flashed through her head and a rueful smile tugged at her lips. She was right: that person's influence really was like a disease.

"I'll begin docking procedures now, ma'am."

"No," said Aria, raising a hand, "Bring us in closer… I want to get a look at this thing."

The officer inclined her head and complied, veering the ship around until it hung in space facing the darkened shape.

"Engaging forward spotlights."

Aria blinked in surprise as the giant form was lit up in front of them.

Purple armour with green highlights encased a massive humanoid form, the still head topped by a single horn.

"Ma'am, look," said her security officer, pointing to the arm of the large form, "That writing, it's…"

Aria's eyes trained in on the words painted on the arm in large, bright letters:

EVA-01 TEST TYPE

"_Human…_" growled Aria, her lip curled into a snarl as she turned to her communications officer, "Get me councillor Tevos on Tightbeam. I wish to register…" Aria paused to grit her teeth and take a breath, the sound of her knuckles cracking was audible as she gripped the railing in front of her, "…a _complaint."_

-Ω-

_To be continued…_

-XA-

[A/N] All I'm going to say is the events of this fic happen after the end for both sides. In one case _long_ after the end. A brief opening chapter I know, but It's just a prologue to get the ball rolling. So I hope you'll bear with me as this fic is, to say the least, treading on experimental ground. Hope you enjoyed it so far.

I'll catch you all in Chapter 2: Right of Salvage.


	2. Chapter 2: Right of Salvage

[A/N] And back once more. Interesting reactions thus far, I'm curious to see what you think once things really get moving. I'm still not giving anything away, I'll just say I hope you enjoy what's to come and let me know what you think. Let's continue…

**Alpha and Omega**

**Chapter 2: Right of Salvage**

Aria T'Loak was upset.

No, that was an understatement.

Incandescent with barely contained rage would be a more apt description.

The Asari paced in front of the holographic projector, the usually stoic councillor Tevos looking visibly uncomfortable.

"_Deny_?" snapped Aria, turning back to the screen, "They _deny_ this thing is theirs?"

Tevos sighed, "I can only reiterate what I have been told, Aria. The Alliance maintain that they've scoured both their modern and historical archives, and there's not so much as a footnote or construction record that could relate to what you've sent us in those scans. They've even interrogated several high ranking Cerberus POWs and no leads there either.

"I can also say that I've personally scanned the human records and can find no mention of an organisation named 'NERV' anywhere in their databases. Not even the remotest anecdote."

Aria bared her teeth angrily, "Are you saying someone just _imagined_ _into existence_ the great big fucking mech that, up until yesterday, had its ass embedded in my station?"

The councillor took a calming breath, knowing how careful one had to be when dealing with Aria, "I'm simply saying that no records exist of this…construct. The Alliance is however willing to send a scientific survey team to extract and recover-"

"Not a fucking chance," butted in Aria sharply, "No Alliance ship is getting within a thousand miles of this station. I only just managed to get the last army of humans out of this place. I'm not quite ready to open my arms to another. And if they think I'm just going to let them hurl one of their weapons at my station and then just take it back again with the grace of the goddess then they've got another thing coming."

Tevos' shoulders seemed to sag slightly, "In that case they've also offered, with your personal permission of course, to dispatch the Normandy to render as much assistance as you require. I'm really not sure what more you can ask of me."

This gave Aria momentary pause, she gritted her teeth and reached for the control in front of her, "I'll take their '_offer_' into consideration." And with that she killed the link, cutting off the Asari councillor.

Aria strode out of the communications room and into the booth overlooking the cargo bay. She looked out over the gantry where the huge 'mech' was suspended, held up by a mass of hastily constructed platforms.

Aria rested her palms atop the console in front of her, looking out into the vacant eyes of the hulking form behind the glass, "Well?" she asked, addressing Doctor Rentola, a Salarian specialist in biomechanics who Aria had hastily recruited to offer advice on the mystery once it had emerged that the unidentified object wasn't entirely mechanical.

"Councillor Tevos is quite correct," said the doctor in that hasty way his species often does, "whilst metallurgical analysis confirms object of Earth origin, alloys and construction methods not consistent with those used within the past two hundred years. However, brief historical analysis also indicates humans technologically incapable of this level of biomechanical engineering during that time period; anomalous indeed. If object were of Cerberus construction, would stand to reason that more modern armouring technology would have been used. However, despite primitive alloys used, method of folding into armour plating quite ingenious even by modern standards. Primitive technology used quite commendably."

"Could it have been constructed out of older materials intentionally?"

"Unlikely. Scans indicate mechanical components utilise primitive binary computational systems. We are unable to access interior however. Nor can scans penetrate neck and spinal area."

Aria cut him off before he went too far off tangent, "I get it: whoever built this was ahead of their time. What can you tell me for certain?"

The Salarian was uncharacteristically silent for a moment, "Am almost afraid to say. Genetic analysis indicates the biological components are very close to human. However several segments of the genome defy analysis, as does our attempts to scan the spherical mass contained within the upper torso section."

"Is it dangerous?" she asked, eyes flicking to him but warily keeping focus on the biomech.

"EVA quite dormant; no energy readings nor life signs detected."

"_EVA_?"

The doctor nodded, "Yes. EVA; Evangelion Unit-01. Markings on arm indicate was part of series. Perhaps others like this out there. Test Type indicates successor to prototype."

"So…" mulled Aria, pacing a few steps back and forth, "It's an impossible thing: something that exists, but in turn shouldn't exist. It's obviously a weapon…"

The doctor nodded, "Yes, very apparent. Recommend caution when dealing with unknowns of this type."

Aria nodded absently, finding the situation shining a tiny ray of positivity. It was unique. Unique and impossible. That often also meant _valuable_.

"No wonder the Alliance wants it recovered: A missing part of their own past come back to haunt them."

"Aria…?" said the doctor.

"What is it?"

"Request permission to remove armour plating over torso to complete inspection. May be able to get clearer readings via direct contact."

She narrowed her eyes at the EVA. It had been a while since she'd been faced with a mystery.

Aria hated mysteries. Mystery usually equated to something she didn't know but probably should, "Do it, just make sure you put it back together again when you're done."

"Understood. Promise to leave in mint condition. Will inform you when investigations complete."

Aria nodded silently and walked off, detouring across the gantries outside to pass by the head of the suspended EVA.

She paused, looking up at it. The Asari felt a momentary chill. As silent and still as the giant biomech was, Aria couldn't shake the feeling that it was somehow watching her.

She dismissed the thought with a shake of her head and carried on. She had a few more avenues of investigation. She also would need to tighten her security. Now that the Alliance had been notified, the news of this mysterious object would invariably leak and various parties would no doubt be sending people to snoop under her radar.

-α-

_Meanwhile…_

'How long has it been?' wondered the soul as it floated within the warm nothingness.

He had been asleep for so long, barely perceiving the passage of time, of suns, planets and the universes themselves burning out and being reborn countless times over.

All the while had he been slumbering, the EVA was safely tucked behind the sealed door to the Room of Gauf, sitting in a place beyond time in the void between realities.

Something had changed. He was aware…aware that he simply…_was._

'Where… am I?'

Another timeless period of silence followed.

'Who was I again?'

He shifted in the dark warmth that enveloped him as something tingled on the edge of his dreaming consciousness, barely aware of something outside the void…something close.

'Was there someone there…?'

The waning control system of the EVA lulled its occupant back to momentary rest, suspending him once more in the timeless void.

The soul of the EVA had little time left.

EVA was to be a symbol forever that mankind had existed, but even eternity had its limits.

The AT field of the one who occupied the core of the EVA was all but faded, having outlasted eternity itself countless times. She had spent so long cradling the essence of the one within, but her time was coming to an end. She had done her best to maintain him after the sacrifice he had made to close the Room of Gauf forever, and once and for all ensure humanity's future.

He had stood up and left the redheaded girl alone on the beach; he'd walked out over the sea of LCL. He'd taken the phantom hand of the girl who was Lilith's vessel, and with the choice made, she had granted his wish. He gave the redheaded girl that lay on the shores of Hell his penance.

He recreated the world.

He had fixed everything; the world was beautiful and blue once more.

But the price was that he could not ever be a part of that world.

And so he had left with the EVA, become one with it once more. And then he had slept, contained within his mother's essence for all time.

But that time was running out.

From within the void between realities, it had taken nearly all her remaining willpower to force open a gap at the weakened point in space caused by the Mass Relay.

It had been quite easy; the Room of Gauf no longer existed after all, as the souls it contained had died long ago…along with the rest of their universe.

EVA looked once more within at the slumbering form. Even as a nothingness contained within nothingness, he hadn't remained entirely unaffected by the countless passing of eons, but she would do what she could for him before the time came for them to part forever…

She watched with tenderness as he murmured out silently, whispering to the outside world for what he was unaware was the first time in countless millennia.

'_Who are you…?_'

-Ω-

Aria froze dead at the end of the gantry.

A technician walking by nearly staggered, noticing that the Asari's eyes had become deep pools of glistening black.

She swung back around, her eyes retaking their regular hue, though the violet hue of her skin seemed to be a slightly paler shade. She found herself gasping for breath, her heart thumping in her chest.

"A-are you alright…?" asked the technician carefully.

Aria simply shook her head in silence and walked hastily away, finding herself using great self-restraint as not to outright flee.

-Ω-

Aria paced through the streets of Omega, trying to blow off tension as she headed back towards Afterlife.

If Asari could emit a cold sweat, then Aria would definitely be doing it now.

She angrily swung around a corner.

"You look a little startled…" came an almost smug voice.

Aria skidded to a halt, her breath short as she rounded on the Turian leaning against a nearby support pillar, his hands almost unconsciously adjusting the sight of a sniper rifle that he had cradled in his hands.

Aria glared at him out the corner of her eye, "_Garrus_…"

The Turian almost flourished a bow with his weapon, "Come now, Aria, don't look at me like that. We're all friends here, aren't we?"

Aria bared her teeth at him, "Don't give me that bullshit. You can go back to the Council and tell them-"

"I assure you," cut in Garrus gently, "I'm merely here out of… personal curiosity. You know as well as any how much I prefer to remain a neutral party. Think of me as a useful resource who happened to have nothing better to do."

Garrus sank down onto a nearby ledge as Aria glared at him, "If I find you're lying to me-"

The Turian chuckled, "Come now, Aria…people like you and me; we're always lying to each other. The one thing you should remember, however, is that I collect notches for people like you on the barrel of my rifle like you do notches on your bedpost for your own pole dancers. Trust me, if I wanted you as an enemy… you'd already know it. I very rarely have time for things such as pretence."

Aria regarded the Turian for a moment, "Alright then. Feel free to sit back and watch the show. I'm going to assume you've already gained access to the restricted section of the station around the EVA."

"But of course, " he replied, chuckling slightly.

"Then you just carry right on, Garrus Vakarian…"

And so Aria walked on. She could've made more of the confrontation, looked deeper into the reason for the Turian's timely appearance, but to be honest, she was just silently grateful for the distraction, and she strongly guessed that Garrus knew that too.

Another storm was coming, and for reasons she couldn't comprehend, Aria T'Loak's confidence was starting to waver.

-Ω-

_To be continued…_

-XA-

[A/N] Okay, decided to do this one a little differently. This fic is going to show up in shorter bursts, as it'll be worked on a week or so at a time, but I think I can work it better this way…there are reasons for everything in this chapter and I hope you stay with me.

Catch you in Chapter 3: Encounter


	3. Chapter 3: Encounter

V1.08 Minor word changes to certain interactions.

[A/N] What can I say? I'm on a roll with this one. Thanks for all your kind words. I'm going to do my best to keep the ball rolling on this one, hope you have as much fun reading it as I did writing in, might call this one where an already weary Aria (paragon choices of course) finally cracks when a light is shone on a part of her she's tried to ignore is highlighted. Game on...

**Chapter 3: Encounter**

Aria was sat up uncharacteristically straight on her couch in the VIP section of Afterlife, a bottle of Noverian rum gripped in one hand as she swirled a finger idly through the liquid in the glass before her.

She had of course heard the human expression of someone 'walking over her grave'. Only on this occasion it felt like this certain someone had walked over it, came back and decided to settle down for the evening.

She gulped her first, large mouthful of drink and sat back, waiting for the welcome burn to extinguish the chill inside her.

The burn came.

The chill remained.

That voice: A whisper echoing through her very heart. It resonated terrifyingly inside of her.

It was so…lonely. So solitary and yet tinged with the tiniest light of hope; hope that there was something _more_.

She simply couldn't shake the feeling of that solitary soul out there, and she had no god damned clue why.

Aria scowled openly, ignoring as the bottle in her hand began to web up with cracks in her grip.

Aria didn't _feel _sympathy. She didn't care. Aria T'Loak dominated. She took what she wanted and to hell with everyone else. That was the way things worked.

She flinched as she found her rebellious brain calling up the face of Liselle for just the briefest instant.

And then there was Nyreen too

There was another face lost forever to the void.

But at least Aria had survived...she still endured. She _always_ endured.

The still Asari gritted her teeth, trying to hold up the front of her satisfaction of her position.

Her eyes flicked down to one of the dancers below, locking in on an attractive young Asari maiden with the slightest violet hue to her skin.

A smirk pulled at the Pirate Queen's lips. She knew she could have her if she wanted. She just had to go down there, grab her by the shoulders, pin her to the wall with her mouth and that would be that. The girl would be shocked, but she would give in…they always gave in. They _always_ wanted her.

Aria never spent the night alone unless she chose to.

And she couldn't help but realise that she'd been doing that a lot these days.

She set her glass down and stood to her feet, the guard at the stairway making ready to part for her.

Aria eyed the various bodies as they swayed and moved about on the dance floor.

So many to choose from.

And then the lingering memory of that voice stabbed at her again, and one word suddenly swam up from her own mind.

Meaningless.

Aria's breathing increased; her heart seemed to thud in time with the beat of the music as it thrummed almost tauntingly in her ears. She glared down with detachment at her kingdom below.

Her shoulders heaved and, unable to contain it any longer, she swung away from the scene below, and with a storm of released frustration, hurled the twenty thousand credit bottle in her hand off a nearby wall, "_Fuck!"_ she roared, her Krogan bodyguard barely managed to duck out the way as it struck the surface just above his head and exploded into fragments.

Seething, Aria stormed wordlessly by the guard, down the stairs, across the dance floor, and out the club doors.

-Ω-

Doctor Rentola looked up in surprise as Aria stormed into the bay. With a swing of her hand, she sent a chair that happened to be in her path spinning through the air with a whip of biotic energy, embedding the piece of furniture in the opposite wall.

"A-Aria?" stammered the doctor as the Asari stopped, took several breaths and began pacing quickly back and forth with her arms crossed tightly in front of her, "C-can I help you?"

Aria rounded on him, "Well I don't see why not!" she snapped, towering over him as he cowered backwards away from the uncharacteristically manic look in her eyes, "Since we're all being so soft today, why don't we all just help each other out until the entire universe is nothing but rainbows and fucking sunshine!"

The doctor opened and closed his mouth a few times. He wasn't quite sure just who the Asari was talking about, nor just who was supposed to be lonely. Weighing up his options, he then asked very carefully, "I-if you don't mind my asking…are you drunk?"

"Oh, I fucking _wish!_" she snarled, her chest heaving behind her arms as she took several more long, calming breaths.

Once Rentola was sure that Aria wasn't about to terminate his comparatively short existence, he stood up from behind the piece of purple armour plate he'd been cowering behind, "C-come for a progress update, have you?"

Aria fumed for another second before shaking her head into a nod. She turned her attention to the EVA, one hand coming up to massage her brow, "_Yes_," she breathed, "what's the word with the damned thing?"

The doctor coughed and collected himself, "As you can see, armour plate removal completely successful. Experimented with attempting removal of armour sections around spinal sections also. Interestingly, all attempts failed; stopped by energy barrier of unknown origin."

Aria was silently very grateful for having her mind distracted, as she looked up suddenly, "Energy barrier? I thought you said it was dormant."

The doctor nodded, pulling up the display on his Omnitool, "Indeed. Dormant, and still is. Energy barrier did not register until I attempted to breach it. Seems to shield anything within from all outside influence. Almost as if there is a completely separate space contained within."

"So it's protecting just that one section," assumed Aria, "Why?"

The doctor cocked his head, "Unknown. However, have managed to expose core section. Care to see?"

Aria just nodded tiredly.

The Salarian hit a control. The gantry jolted slightly and began descending.

Aria watched as the great ruby core of the EVA came into view, webbed into place by various tissue and mechanical components. She noted several electrodes and sensor equipment had already been placed into direct contact with the reflective surface.

"Was just about to begin intensive preliminary scan when you…ahem…_entered._ Please observe."

Aria just rolled her eyes and nodded her head for him to continue.

To think she was willingly choosing this over a night at Afterlife...

She wished to the goddess there was someone she could just choke the life out of for making her feel this way.

"Sending initial scanning signals…" Aria blinked, the doctor's voice seeming to cut in and out, "…state…material…" Aria wobbled slightly on her feet as the doctor's voice seemed to blur into the background, "…unknown… quantum particle…" her eyes were focused almost hypnotically on the orb that dominated her perspective, lost in its reflective, blood-like surface.

She let out a gasp as something opened up in her mind and the world erupted into darkness about her.

-α-

Aria suddenly found herself hovering, floating suspended in an endless void of blackness.

Her breath seemed to echo on for eternity as she looked quickly about, surprise etched on her features. There was no fear there however. No, centuries of experience had taught her how to not show fear on reflex.

Suddenly there was a shimmering in the air, accompanied by a strange melodic humming as a blue glow fizzled into existence before her.

"Oh great," groaned Aria, "And just what is this supposed to be?"

Aria watched as the orb became clearer and slowly expanded into what looked like the outline of a humanoid female. All that was visible was her silhouette, outlined by the neon-blue hue.

The spectre regarded Aria with strange patience.

Aria, however, wasn't really what one would describe as patient, "Who the hell are you?" she snapped.

The outline seemed to tilt its head, as if regarding her curiously, "I am EVA."

Aria frowned at the shape, "What do you mean you _are_ EVA? You mean you're the mind of that giant monstrosity?"

The shape tilted its head. The outline of short cut bangs was visible for an instant, "That is correct. Though, it would be more accurate to say that I am all that _remains_ of EVA. My AT field; the light of my soul, has dimmed with the passing of so many eons. I have so very little time left. That is why I reach out to you now. Because I have no choice. You have no reason to be afraid…"

Aria scoffed, "You think I'm _afraid?_"

The figure inclined its head slightly, "Yes…I think you're very afraid."

Aria sucked in a breath through her teeth and had to stop herself from pouncing on the insubstantial form, retaining her usual composure, "You are so lucky that this is all happening in my head right now..."

"I would love nothing more than to exchange words for longer, but time is short, and you are my last hope."

Aria laughed incredulously, "And why in the hell should I help you?"

The voice was quieter in its response, "Because you know what it is like to lose that which is most precious to you."

Aria grunted, "I don't see what my _temporary _loss of Omega has-"

"I wasn't _talking_ about Omega," cut in the voice gently.

Aria fell into dead silence, her first reaction was to dismiss the ghostly apparition's words as nonsense, but the retort never came…

The outlined woman allowed Aria her silence and waited patiently for her to speak.

When Aria spoke again, her voice held just a tad less cynicism than before, "And just what makes you think I'll _care_ regardless?"

"If you didn't care, then tell me: why did you come back? I was only able to reach out to you due to your close proximity. Your orders could've been issued from a distance. _Why_ did you come back to the EVA?"

"So that was _you_ then? Whispering into my head…"

Aria watched as the ghost shook her head, "No…it wasn't I who reached out to you. And it was not to you that the connection was made, but to that prevailing loneliness that exists so strongly within your heart,

"There was a resonance."

Aria squared her shoulders and glared at the form, "Just tell me what you want."

"As I said, I have no time left, and so I must soon depart forever, but before I go, I must give up guardianship of that which I have protected for so long."

"And what might that be?"

"My greatest treasure: the ark of humanity's hope, and the light that was its salvation. I have prepared it already with all it needs to survive…now that I myself will not be able to protect it."

Aria glanced off to the side, "Well I _do_ like treasure…" she murmured, "Fine. I'll take…possession of it for you."

"Do I have your word that you will not harm it?"

Aria regarded the form wearily, "How do you even know I'll _keep_ my word?"

"Because I am taking your word not as the ruler of Omega, not as a pirate, but as a mother…"

Aria regarded the dimming outline icily, "My daughter is dead."

"Our children are _never_ dead," hissed the glowing form with sharp chastisement.

Aria dwelled for a moment, and then just hung there in silent acceptance before speaking, "_Fine…_you have my word. Anything to get me out of here…"

"Very well, I shall trust you. And you may tell this to the life-form attempting to scan the core: Quantum storage medium."

"_Excuse me?_"

The outline cocked its head, "It's a record I've been compiling. It took a few ice ages to convert the core into a databank that could hold information and data, but I succeeded nontheless. And should access be successful, tell him 'one per cycle'. I'm relatively sure he'll figure out what that means. It shall help give some…perspective."

"Okay…" said Aria, deciding to accept the surreal situation for now.

The form nodded, "It was nice meeting you."

Aria wouldn't have exactly said the same, but inclined her head and made to turn away. She hesitated –not something she does often- and glanced back, "What's your name?"

There was a pause, and the reply was barely a whisper, "I don't remember," she said, "but that is not important. I must go now. I wish to depart whist still able to remember the two things I've managed to hold onto throughout the eternities I have spent here, and already I feel them slipping."

Aria regarded the fading form with contemplation for a brief spell and then merely inclined her head and turned away, vanishing into the ether.

The lonely form looked out into the darkness as the last remnant of her AT field began to fizzle into nothingness, and addressed sadly the void that waited, "Tell me, Gendo…did I do well?"

And with that, what remained of Yui Ikari's form vanished forever, at last joining those in rest who had departed so long ago, as she sent one final whisper of hope to the last of them who remained, "The light of Adam and Lilith will guide your way…my Shinji…"

-Ω-

"Readings coming through!" came the excited Salarian doctor's cry, startling Aria out of her trance, "Sensors registering as actually existing."

Aria blinked her eyes a few times, shaking her head to clear it, "W-what?"

"Protected section of Eva now has mass! Cause unknown. Beginning scans regardless."

Aria rested a hand on the back of her head and walked over to the doctor, looking at the display on his Omnitool, "Have you figured out what's inside it?"

The doctor opened his mouth to speak, but both recoiled backwards as the entire head section of the EVA suddenly slid forwards, the rear armour folding up slightly.

With a hiss and groan of hydraulics, a long cylindrical object slid free from the gap before locking into place.

The pair were still for a moment and, once the shock wore off, Aria punched the control to raise the gantry back up to get a better view.

"Show caution," said the doctor quickly, his Omnitool upturned and working quickly to run scans over the object.

"I'm always cautious," replied Aria with a murmur as she slowly walked about the gantry, eying up the cylinder which, like the EVA itself, was emblazoned with the marking EVA-01. She cocked her head briefly, "Not what I would call a treasure chest, but…"

"Aria?" enquired the doctor, the Asari merely shaking her head in dismissal.

"Fascinating…" said the scientist.

"What is?"

"Detecting highly organised particles in quantum flux contained within. Similar to those within core, only far more complex and condensed."

She looked back at the Salarian, "What's in there then?"

The doctor shrugged, "Nothing."

Aria blinked, "_Nothing?_"

"_Well_," clarified the doctor, "not _literally _nothing. Only physically nothing."

She shot a withering glare at the doctor, "Do I have to hurt you before you explain just what the fuck you're talking about?"

Rentola momentarily forgot just who he was talking to and sighed tiredly, as if he were being bothered by a tiresome child. He missed Aria clench a blue, glowing fist at her side "Put simply: contents of cylinder are not currently in physical form. Require reinstatement. Could be some form of long term storage."

Aria opened her fist, "So how do we go about _reinstating_-"

They were both cut off as the core below pulsed once with a red glow and a line of orange light spread up along the Eva's upper body. It moved up until it passed about the entry plug, sweeping over it several times before vanishing as quickly as it had appeared.

Aria looked down and noticed the brightness of the core had dimmed, as if it had lost its lustre somehow.

Rentola spoke up, "_Ah…"_

She looked back at him, "What is it?"

He was looking down at his Omnitool, he then looked warily up at the entry plug, even as the display on his arm began to fluctuate wildly as several readings went off the scale, "Well that can't be good…_"_

That was when, as if on cue, the entry plug opened.

A column of light erupted upwards from within and Aria and the Salarian were hurled backwards by the shockwave of released energy, both barely managing to stop themselves from tumbling over the edge of the walkway.

Aria tried to push herself up, ignoring the doctor's warning for caution. She looked up, expanding her biotic shield over them both to block out the force trying to push them away.

A giant luminous cross loomed over them, its base somewhere in the pool of light within the entry plug.

Aria leaped back as the arms of the cross coiled inwards and the entire mass of light spiralled down towards the gantry, totally ignoring the pair currently watching in terrified awe.

The light gathered into a swirling cyclone of brilliant golden luminescence which spun quickly around, forming into a perfect sphere of blinding light above them.

Aria watched in silence as the ball began taking form, a glowing shape within started to become visible.

The light began to bleed up from the materialising form until it flattened out into a shimmering, golden halo above.

The Asari's eyes widened in undisguised shock as she looked upon the nearly-formed humanoid figure that seemed to hang there, suspended in the air by the halo above its head.

Slowly, the halo began to close inward on itself, the light that seemed to pour from the figure's skin dimming along with it.

Abruptly, the light and halo all but vanished, the last remaining glow coming from a pair of small red gems embedded in each of the figure's wrists.

Aria T'Loak could only watch in gaping silence as the young human male toppled to the floor before her.

Silence blanketed the bay, broken only by the occasional whirring of Rentola's Omnitool.

The doctor swallowed a gulp in his throat and looked down at the blinking display on his arm.

"Reinstatement complete…"

-Ω-

_To be continued…_

-XA-

[A/N] Ahh yes, from here things get fun. I hope you've enjoyed these few short intro chapters and I'm going to personally enjoy where this one will take me. Let me know if you enjoyed it, any ideas and thoughts etc., let me know, and I'll try to be as paragon as possible and get the next instalment out ASAP. See you all next time!

Catch you in Chapter 4: Third Child


	4. Chapter 4: Third Child

[A/N] Some interesting feedback so far, and while I'm going to stick to the story as planned, I'll do my best to answer some of the questions raised using the narrative as opposed to just outright saying them. Probably going to be some larger gaps between chapters from here on out, but I'll try to keep you up to date as much as possible.

**Chapter 4: Third Child**

Garrus Vakarian had a knack for details, but then one often had to in his line of work. Once Aria had seen the young man relocated to an isolation ward, she had been surprised to find the Turian scouring about in the EVA's newly discovered cockpit.

Aria stopped, folding her arms and scowling up at the former C-Sec officer. She didn't care that he'd gained access without authorisation, with a man like him it was simply to be expected, "Just what the hell are you doing?"

Garrus was sitting on the edge of the entry plug, looking inside when he heard the Asari speak. He spared her a brief glance and immediately went back to what he was doing, "Hmm? Oh hello, Aria. Don't mind me. I'm just having a quick nose around."

He hummed in thought as his Omnitool fed back it's scans on the on the orange substance pooled inside the plug and, once the display had informed him it was merely a highly oxygenated ultra-light liquid composed mainly of harmless base proteins, he hopped over the rim and inside.

"And just what do you suppose you'll find in there?"

Garrus' voice echoed from within the plug as he looked curiously about inside, "Answers. Scanning a comatose young human –assuming he is indeed human- will only get you so far. In my experience it's always best to try and get as much background information as possible first before jumping into an operation. Frankly, I'm shocked you blundered into this as quickly as you did…"

Aria scoffed and looked off to the side, "My methods have served me well so far…"

"Yeah?" replied Garrus as he crawled to the bottom of the plug, "Well that's certainly an opinion open for debate. And another….Ah-_hah," _chimed the Turian.

Aria frowned, "What is it?" With grace one wouldn't expect form one with such a rigid posture, she loped forward and with two bounds, leaped onto the shoulder of the EVA and then up to the neck. She walked round to the side of the entry plug as Garrus emerged and sat down once more on the rim of the plug.

The Turian had a saturated white piece of clothing in his hand and a black one in the other.

He briefly ran his Omnitool over the material, "Hmm. Woven plant fibres, definitely of Earth origin. More importantly…" he said, tossing the shirt over his shoulder and then padding down the pockets of the black trousers he'd found. He fished inside and retrieved a black leather wallet, "Let's see what we have here…"

Aria herself glanced over the rim of the plug, reaching down to the control seat within. She retrieved what appeared to be a strange metal headband with two plastic attachments on it. Also, haphazardly discarded within was a small rectangular piece of machinery with a wire plugged into the top. Frowning, she wrapped the cord around the small machine and slid it into her pocket, hooking the headband over her upper arm.

"Ahhh," breathed Garrus with satisfaction, "_Pay dirt_…"his eyes glistening as he looked down at a small white plastic card that he'd retrieved from the wallet. He held it up between two fingers, "it would appear our sleeping friend has a name," and, saying nothing more, Garrus hopped down onto the gantry and strode calmly away.

"Wait!" called Aria, leaping down after him, "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"Just carrying on what I was doing, Aria," replied the Turian as he calmly slipped the wallet into his pocket.

Garrus staggered as a light biotic wave struck him in the back. Obviously not intended to harm, but it did irritate him somewhat.

He let out a low growl as he looked back at Aria, who lowered her outstretched hand to her side and strode toward him, "What does it say, Vakarian?"

Instead of replying, Garrus regarded her in thought for a moment. He slowly approached Aria and began pacing leisurely in front of her, "Why is it you _care_?" He nodded at the EVA, "You've got your prize, Aria. So what does the identity of a single lone human matter to the likes of you. After the Cerberus incident, I'd have thought you'd be glad to be shot of as many of them as possible."

Aria glowered at him, "Don't presume to understand me, Garrus. And you forget; this is Omega, where all are free, and all are equal, even Humans."

"So you're saying you're just…curious?"

"I'll admit that much."

Garrus hummed again in thought, "I don't know. As far as Omega goes, it's finders-keepers as they say."

"I _am_ Omega," spat Aria, "and I make the rules."

Garrus rolled his eyes, "So you like to keep reminding us. Alright, I'll make a deal with you."

Aria considered just jumping the Turian, but immediately dismissed it. In terms of threat posed, she knew from reputation that in his own way, Garrus was at least on her own level when it came to skill in combat. "I'm listening…"

"Considering that I've read all the information contained on the human's ID and looked at everything else in here, " he said, patting his pocket, "I'll make a trade. _This,_" he said, withdrawing and holding up the wallet, "For that device you found. It…interests me."

Aria withdrew the rectangular object and looked between it and Garrus, weighing her options.

At this point, Aria knew that information was more valuable than any simple curio, and so she handed it over, "Deal." She said, and pocketed the leather wallet in return.

"Pleasure doing business with you," said the Turian as he began to closely examine he object, unwrapping the cord, "Ah, yes, I see…" he muttered, examining the buds at the end of the wire.

"You know what it is?"

He inclined his head, "I believe it's a human device used for playing audio recordings." He nodded at the wire, "You put these in your ears, and the device plays whatever media is stored on here," he said, opening it up and withdrawing the tape within, he flicked it a couple of times, shaking off the LCL, "Could use a bit of drying out first, of course."

"Congratulations," said Aria dryly as she began walking past him, "You've got yourself an antique music player."

Garrus fell into step alongside her, already running his Omnitool over the tape player and checking the faults. The complexity of his simplest sidearm was leaps and bounds beyond the primitive device, and so it wouldn't take him much to get it working should he see fit, "You'd be surprised what you can learn about a person from their musical taste alone. Don't think I haven't heard that noise torture you play night after night in that club of yours."

A mirthful smirk tugged at Aria's lip, "Each to their own, Vakarian…"

-Ω-

Aria entered the medical unit, eyes locked on the small piece of white plastic in her hands.

The pair of Turian Talons stationed to guard the unknown human came to attention, bracing their assault rifles against themselves.

Doctor Rentola was present, the Salarian having put himself into solving the mysteries of the EVA with the usual obsessive enthusiasm that his species was renowned for.

"What do you have for me, doctor?" she murmured.

"Preliminary medical scans complete. Just going over DNA analysis now. Subject is currently in a comatose state."

"Yeah, well I have some data for you…"

The doctor looked up from his panel, "Data?"

Aria nodded, sitting down on the edge of the examination table and reading off the card, "We found his ID. _Although_…" she said, holding the image up and comparing it with the still form on the bed, "the picture appears a bit out of date…" she walked slowly over to him, observing his still features, "His name is Shinji Ikari; Blood type A; Date of birth, according to this anyway, is down as," she paused to look up from the card and at the Third Child again, "June sixth, two thousand and one."

The doctor hummed, "Appearance not bad for 185 year-old human. Though strongly suspect difference in age due to being held in state of quantum dissolution."

Aria nodded, "Even so…" she said, holding the card up and comparing the picture, "he does seem to have aged."

She regarded the young human. His height seemed to not match up what was on the card either. His hair had grown out also and was unkempt as if it had been in the style of the adolescent in the image and had at least two years' worth of growth. Though as far as the Asari knew, that should've meant some facial hair. She reached down and touched him tentatively across the cheek and indeed there was no sign of growth.

The doctor nodded in agreement, "Physical age indeed difficult to pin down due to several anomalies. Would estimate around seventeen years in human terms, plus or minus one year. Muscular tissues show no sign of atrophy and are quite well developed."

Aria looked down at the young man's soft features in thought, 'she said she'd been 'maintaining him. Is this what she meant?' She looked up at the Salarian again, "And what anomalies are you talking about?"

The doctor approached the opposite side of the bed, "Observe here," he said, picking up one of the patient's hands and turning it over, "notice these crystalline structures," he said, pointing to the perfectly spherical red gem embedded in the human's wrist.

Aria shrugged, "Some kind of body decoration, so what?"

The Salarian shook his head, "Not so. Have attempted to take sample, but am unable to scrape off any material at all. Seems impervious to any attempts to scan also. Defies analysis completely. Seems unlikely for decoration either; embedding adornments so close to major blood vessels unwise."

"Defying analysis," murmured Aria, "Just like those sections of the EVA?"

Rentola nodded, "My thoughts exactly. Also, slight cellular oddities apparent."

"Go on."

"Very interesting fact is that subject's rate of cellular division is very low for a human, with an almost zero factor in terms of post-mitosis degradation. Not consistent at all with DNA patterns; As if some unknown factor is controlling and sustaining cellular development."

Aria didn't like to admit when words were flying over her head, and so she merely glared at the doctor in reply. He took the hint and chose to rephrase his explanation, "DNA on surface is human, blood also confirms with subject's ID as type A. However, rate of degradation in terms of aging is barely a fraction of the norm for his species. Can find no reason for this anomaly."

Aria frowned, "You mean he's human, just not _aging_ like a human?"

The doctor cocked his head, "Somewhat, yes. Could be aftereffect of quantum storage. Unfortunately, due to uniqueness of situation, no basis for comparison exists. As with EVA, would recommend caution. My final summary based on all current information: Subject is human. But subject also has nonhuman factors which can currently not be defined."

Something else that was unique, thought Aria as she regarded the almost peaceful features of the comatose human, "Interesting…"

"Quite. Request permission to dissect subject in order to complete analysis. Brain material should prove very insightful. Will file research paper when complete. Subject to your approval and edits first, of course. Do not wish to make anecdotes in medical journal that would cause offence."

Aria's eyes flicked to the scientist, "You want to…dissect him? Just got to check: that wasn't some kind of Salarian joke that just went over my head, right?"

The doctor nodded, turning back to his console, "Yes; dissect. Seems most logical course. Humour; no, never have time for it. Full internal examination will maximise depth of study and euthanization of subject will double to nullify any potential threat posed. Investigations into aging anomaly could yield extremely lucrative data. Will of course ensure percentage of profits from any advancements be fed back to yourself."

A sickening feeling began to well in Aria's stomach. It was starting to become apparent why a scientist of Rentola's obvious calibre was scraping out a living in Omega's backstreet clinics.

That's what you get for skipping out on background checks for temporary employees.

There was something she wanted to confirm first though, "Is this comatose state permanent?" she asked, keeping her focus on the resting form.

Rentola regarded Aria for a brief second before going back to work, "No. Estimates show subject may regain consciousness relatively soon. Should terminate vitals immediately lest there be complications."

"And are there any signs of brain damage? No chance of him going brain-dead or waking up a gibbering vegetable?" she asked, trying to gauge if his recommendation was on some kind of sympathetic ground.

The doctor didn't look up as he shook his head, "Besides minor fluctuations in memory centres, no. All brain patterns seem stable and show no sign of degradation. Tissue is perfectly healthy. Any further information required?"

"No," sighed the Asari, "That will be all, doctor." Without looking up, Aria drew a pistol from behind her back and fired one shot through Rentola's head.

The guards flinched, their weapons raising a fraction before they registered that it was Aria who had fired the shot. They immediately resumed their prior posture as if nothing happened.

Aria watched impassively as the scientist slid limply to the floor, the screen behind him sparking from the bullet embedded in its surface.

"Now that was a crying shame…" said Garrus, who was laid casually out on his side on one of the other beds, and was currently in the process of disassembling the tape player with his portable toolkit. Unsurprisingly, the Turian hadn't even looked up when the gunshot rang out.

"_What_?" asked Aria in a low voice as she returned her sidearm to its hiding place, "You have an objection, Garrus?"

"To his death? Oh, not at all." Replied the Turian as he cleaned, depolarised and recharged components with almost bizarre ease.

"I'm glad; else I might've just shot you too. This place has seen enough torture and butchery by… _people _like him," replied Aria, closing her eyes to halt the flashbacks from her encounters with Cerberus' abominable Adjutants, and those who were lost halting their advance.

Garrus looked up and pointed at the body with the tool in his hand, "I'm only objecting because you just shot my mark."

Aria turned about, "Your mark? You mean you were here for _him_?"

Garrus nodded slightly, "I'll admit that the council did ask me to look in on this whole giant mech business, but that was just because I happened to be in the area. I was planning on taking him out when your use for him had ended. That way I felt we could avoid any…_unfortunate clashes_. I suppose that's just what I get for procrastinating when Aria T'Loak is involved."

She looked back at the corpse, "I suppose I should know who he is…?"

Garrus inclined his head, "His cosmetic alterations were good, I'll admit. But considering Rentola's line of work it's understandable that even your spies didn't recognise him. It was a bit cocky of him not to have changed his family name though, even if it is common among Salarians. But I guess that was just his ego. I also assume you hired him because of his word of mouth bragging to his customers about his qualifications."

Aria nodded, "I needed a biomech specialist and I'd heard he had skill: Claimed to have achieved the Academy Centrum award for prestige three years running."

Garrus nodded, "He wasn't lying, and there's only one Doctor Rentola who holds the Centrum award on record: Doctor Agrius Rentola: wanted in three systems for performing hundreds of illegal experiments on many of the unfortunate SOB's who passed through his clinic, which in most cases were either war orphans or injured veterans fresh back from fighting the Reapers.

"It was a bit of a stretch to come so far on nothing more than an echo on the grapevine, but what can I say? My feeling on this one was good."

Aria smirked slightly, "Guess I just earned myself a little bounty then."

Garrus rolled his eyes, "Yes, Aria. Yes, I suppose you did…" he then went glumly back to his tinkering.

She glanced at her guards, "You: get that filthy carcass sent back to Salarian authorities with my compliments. And you: fetch one of my personal physicians," the guard nodded and headed for the terminal, "and for fuck's sake, try to make sure it's someone _trustworthy _this time!"

Both Talons signified their compliance and went about their tasks.

"If you don't mind my asking," said Garrus, deciding to break what he considered an uncomfortable silence as he began reassembling the tape player once more.

"What is it?" Asked Aria, who had gone back to regarding Shinji with detached curiosity

"Though I'm loathed to admit it, Rentola has, or at the very least _had,_ a point: Humans, at least in my experience, don't normally emerge from giant biomechs within glowing orbs of light with halos." He nodded his head at the ID card on the bed, "What do you intend to do if he turns out to not be entirely…what he appears to be?"

Aria flashed him a smirk, "If he turns out to be something…not human?"

Garrus inclined his head.

"Then I'll give him a smile and say '_welcome to Omega_'."

A smile pulled at the edge of Garrus' mouth as he clipped the casing closed and hit the remote on the earphone cord, "Ahh, there we are," he said with satisfaction as the mechanism began working.

He watched the worn LCD blink up.

"_Ahh_," breathed Garrus as he held the bud against his ear, "_Bach_…"

"Did you just clear your throat?"

Garrus just sighed and shook his head. The S-DAT player whirred as if having and error. He flicked it once, allowing it to begin track 29…

-α-

'Where…where am I?'

His mind felt heavy, like he was thinking through a thick layer of fog.

There were voices somewhere around him, but they weren't clear, as if he were listening underwater.

Shinji couldn't move, in fact it only just occurred to him that he even had a body.

He tried to focus, to clear up the voices, as he found he couldn't understand the cacophony of noises around him.

A musician's ear he had, so Shinji managed to differentiate each source after giving his head another moment to clear.

Shinji focused on the first, and realised he couldn't make out a word of what was being said. It was a deep, baritone sound with unfathomable syllables and clicks accompanying it. It wasn't a language he understood.

The second sounded feminine, it had an almost sultry and melodic quality to it that played on his mind, but again the words made no sense. He let himself listen to that bizarrely wonderful voice for a moment longer before moving on.

At last, he contemplated: words he could grasp. He fought to tune in his mind; to register the words:

"-think it might be best that when he wakes, both yourself and Garrus aren't in the room."

This voice, like the second, was female. Only he could understand it for some reason.

The second voice responded, Shinji couldn't make out the words but they sounded irritated and exasperated.

"Because if he _is _from the early twenty-first century, then I know for a fact that humans wouldn't have encountered an alien race at that point. With all due respect, Aria, the culture shock of simply waking up here on Omega could be damaging enough, but waking up and seeing…nonhuman faces, could be very traumatic. It's just my opinion as his doctor."

Shinji tried to figure out the meaning behind the woman's words, but his mind wasn't working that clearly yet, though it seemed she was speaking very carefully around whomever it was she'd addressed.

The deep voice spoke again. Shinji distantly realised it didn't seem very frightening, as alien as it was. It almost sounded laidback.

An echo of a memory drifted up.

He'd once known a man like that…Who was he? And what was it that happened to him?

"I'm just installing it now," said the woman in response to the deep voice, "I agree that it'll mitigate the shock somewhat if he can at least perceive us as all speaking the same language when he wakes."

Shinji felt a dull, stabbing pain and tried to wince as he felt something prick his arm. It lasted barely a second.

"Injection complete. Adjusting sub-dermal translator and synchronising linkup to his nervous system. Just give me a second to fine tune it…"

There was that low voice again, and then suddenly, "-amazed at how we managed to get anything done before their invention. Is it working, doctor?"

The female voice responded, "Yes, full nerve links established. As far as our friend Shinji here is concerned, when he wakes up it'll look as if we're all speaking whatever language he happens to be most fluent in."

'Shinji?' he thought, that name echoing through his consciousness like a whisper.

'_Yes, _that was…that was what I was called…what people _used_ to call me…until…'

Shinji strained, trying desperately to pull up the memories, but there was nothing.

Nothing but…_stars._

Stars stretching on and on for eternity: an endless corridor with his memories resting at the end.

He tried to think through them, to draw them up, but it was to no avail.

He couldn't remember.

He _wanted_ to remember…didn't he?

Shinji's brain began to kick in. The words started to have meaning: People had been speaking other languages. And the woman had referred to him by name. They'd put something in him to let him understand what the others were saying.

Yes, that made sense…somehow.

He was instantly wary of the concept of someone putting some kind of device in him that altered the way he saw things, but it was better than not knowing what people were saying around him.

He had become more and more aware of his body. His head throbbed, and through some tiny twitches he realised he could probably move now if he absolutely tried.

But now it was time for the next big step.

Time to try and get an eye open.

A shaft of blinding light pierced through Shinji's visual cortex as he fluttered an eyelid up a fraction of a millimetre.

He didn't know what to expect; he didn't know where he was.

His brain finally chose to reboot his emotions.

Fear and confusion… Check.

No, he didn't know what was about him, and so he opened the eye slowly, trying his best to hide what he was doing, lest someone be looking in his direction when he did it.

'So…bright…' thought Shinji with dull annoyance. He was laying down on something, something soft, an oddly sterile smell filled his nostrils. A shudder went through his body.

How long had it been since he'd smelled something?

Shinji blinked his barely open eye rapidly, adjusting it to the light.

He looked to the side. A figure came into focus.

A woman with dark hair and donned in a long white lab coat stood with her back to him, she was tapping idly away on some kind of control panel. Shinji wasn't sure if his depth perception was messed up or something, but it looked like the panel itself was some kind of projection.

"Well I'm going to go fetch some air," came that lower male voice again.

"Don't let the door trap you on the way out," there was that second voice again. Only now Shinji could understand it. The melodiousness had been translated into an aloof impatience, but the tone still resonated oddly within him.

Shinji heard a mechanical noise, of a door sliding open and then closed again.

Shinji dared flick his eye to the right now.

His breath caught in his throat, and the barely concealed tensing of all his muscles reminded him painfully that his body was ready to move, and now it was screaming at him to do so.

The first face he'd seen since his memories began, and it wasn't human. It _definitely_ wasn't human.

The blue, almost purple skin kind of gave that away.

And yet still Shinji found himself regarding her –for clearly it was a she- for an entranced moment. Alien; an undeniably attractive kind of alien perhaps, but undeniably alien nonetheless.

There was something about her. Something in the very air that seemed to shimmer around her: the fire in her eyes, the strength of her very posture. Shinji then found the perfect word to sum this being up:

Dangerous.

This person was dangerous.

Shinji wasn't sure how, but it was as if some instinct he had never known before had spoken up.

And it told him that this person could kill him.

She was beautiful, but she terrified him. She was something he didn't understand.

He was in a place he had no memory of, nor did he know how he got there.

There was also the small fact that the rest of his memories were currently amounting to pretty much nothing.

Nothing except the stars, the never ending stars.

Shinji took a breath to steady himself and dispel the image.

'Stay calm, mustn't let them know…'

There was a series of angry bleeps to Shinji's left, from the general direction of the woman Shinji assumed was the doctor.

"Ma'am. I've just checked his brainwave activity and... this can't be right."

"What is it?" the violet woman asked, and Shinji secretly watched her turn away.

"Well, it's just, I'm reading much higher levels of alpha and beta brainwave activity…"

"And…?" queried the alien woman with disinterest, holding her hand out to the side slightly.

"No, I'm saying these readings can't be right because, if they were…it would mean he's fully conscious right now."

Shinji found his brain giving him a choice swear word that he could've vocalised in panic.

There was a brief pause between the doctor and the alien and Shinji saw the larger blue-skinned figure turn and slowly begin closing on him. He felt her shadow cut the light off above him.

Time seemed to slow as he opened his eyes on instinct, the one that hadn't been opened before stabbed an objection, only adding to Shinji's disorientation.

Their gazes met.

The woman reached a hand slowly out towards him and terror rose in his chest; terror, fear and confusion.

He felt himself rear back away from her, a single leg rising slightly.

The oldest instinct a living being can have when cornered offered him two options, two open paths to choose from:

Fight or Flight?

And Shinji wasn't sure why, but as he tensed his muscles in preparation to launch himself up and around the alien, a single sentence rose unbidden from the back of his confused head:

'I mustn't run away…'

Now, as stupid and indeed _non-appropriate_ as this mantra was to this scenario, Shinji's body suddenly did two things:

It remembered that it had indeed fought non-human creatures before, if by proxy.

And that while Shinji Ikari may have always been afraid. By the end, he had not been afraid to _fight._

It had just been for the briefest instant, but this conflict was enough to tip the scales enough for his mind to choose a path:

Fight

The leg that had been rising up to propel him out of bed halted in the air. It then turned slightly sideways, the foot flattening in preparation.

Shinji Ikari then leaned back and, to the alien woman's quite understandable surprise, promptly proceeded to kick her squarely in the face, _hard_.

Shinji bolted to his feet as the alien was hurled into the doctor, knocking her against a wall.

The Third Child was assaulted by a wave of dizziness and the odd feeling that his centre of gravity wasn't quite what it should be.

The stream of obscenities that a certain someone began roaring from behind him really helped Shinji's flight instinct to kick back in again.

He bolted for the door, theorising that the alien was even harder to incapacitate than he had first assumed, and that he may have just annoyed her somewhat.

It would turn out that Shinji Ikari was correct on both counts, even if the latter was a monumental understatement.

-α-

Shinji mashed the panel by the door a few times until it opened, he hit the corresponding control on the other side, closing it behind him. He caught sight of the alien woman getting up again just as it closed. If Shinji didn't know any better, he could've sworn her body had been glowing a very angry dark blue.

Shinji swung about and then froze dead to the spot.

There was another alien. Only this one didn't have the luxury of an approximate female appearance. Nope, this one had mandibles, body armour, and what was clearly a very large gun.

He glanced up from what he was doing, which appeared to be polishing the weapon to a very fine shine.

They locked eyes. The alien seemed startled for a moment as he lazed against the table by the main entryway.

Shinji's eyes flicked from the alien's to what appeared to be a doorway onto some kind of street.

Then the unknown creature did the strangest thing. It seemed to smile pleasantly, "Oh, hello. Up and about, are you? I must say you're all making quite a racket in there."

Shinji could've stopped and listened, but his confusion level was through the roof and his only instinct was to run until there was nobody else around.

A crash from within the room broke the spell and Shinji bolted for the door behind the alien, who still seemed to be talking to him. And then he was out and onto the streets.

"You know, I've fixed your-"

-Ω-

Garrus frowned, trailing off as he watched the young man speed past, take a bend and then vanish into the backstreets of Omega. He cocked his head acceptingly and shrugged his shoulders, going back to his weapon again, "Never mind, then…"

The Turian looked up as he saw the ward room open and a blindingly furious Aria storm out, her biotic power bleeding freely out around her.

"Is something the matter, Aria?" asked Garrus calmly.

She hissed and turned her attention to him, "Where is he?" she growled.

"Where is who?"

"Don't fuck with me, Garrus! Didn't you see what happened?"

He nodded, "Yes, I was watched the whole thing through the observation window: I watched him kick you; I watched him run out here; I then said hello and watched as he ran right past me and out the door."

"And you didn't think to stop him?"

Garrus smiled, "Was I supposed to?"

Aria seethed, trying very hard not to take her fury out on the Turian, "Did you see which way he went?"

"I did…"

"_Well?_"

"Why does it matter?"

"Because, for one, I'm going to _murder him._ And two: you know as well as I that if a human barrels out into Omega without a thought, then he won't last five minutes before something takes offence and puts a bullet in him!"

Garrus nodded in thought, "_So_…you want me to help you prevent him getting killed…so you can kill him?"

Aria seemed put back for an instant, "…_Yes_!"

Garrus nodded, "Okay, just wanted to make sure we're on the same page."

"Well are you going to help or not?"

"Can you give me a reason to? One that doesn't start with the words 'because if you don't', of course."

Aria's chest heaved as she tried to control her temper, "You can have your fucking bounty back, that suit you?"

Garrus hummed, "You know, I'm not really interested in that any more. Why don't you try and one-up that a little."

Aria snapped and hurled a biotic shockwave at the wall above Garrus' head. The Turian didn't even flinch to his credit. The Asari gritted her teeth, "Fine. I'll _owe you one_. How does that sound?"

Garrus regarded her for a brief pause. A small smile slowly graced his features, "_Done._"

And without another word being said, the Turian shouldered his weapon and activated the implant above over his left eye.

Garrus strode out the door, the display already helping to identify the subtle disturbances the human's hospital slippers had made in the dirt on the walkway. The implant also displayed the visible trail left by the myriad of scents and substances that oxidise from a person's skin when they moved. The Turian had a clear path towards his quarry.

This trip really was turning out to be most entertaining.

-Ω-

_To be continued…_

[A/N] Ah, at last things are taking shape. I couldn't help but imagine a renegade/paragon prompt back there, and yes, I tried to put more explanation into the Mass Effect translator system: making it alter a person's perception of the language they speak and not just hear, basically my answer to the whole 'then why do their mouths move as if they're speaking English?' complaint. Ahh, Shinji picked the renegade prompt…Makes one wonder how it'll cause things to develop. I hope you've enjoyed this instalment and that you join me next time.

Catch you in Chapter 5: Old Soldiers


	5. Chapter 5: Old Soldiers

[A/N] Thanks for all your positive responses, I'm glad you're enjoying this little tale so far. Surprised it's taken so long to get to the real body of the story, though it has just occurred to me as I write this that I've only had this fic going a week, so I suppose I'm actually doing quite well. Let's see if we can keep this going…

**Chapter 5: Old Soldiers**

Shinji bolted through the alleyways between buildings. His breath and heart echoed in his ears. He sprinted until his legs burned; randomising his course between left and right turns. So far he'd encountered nobody.

He took another corner and skidded to an abrupt halt.

He walked hesitantly forward as he realised the turning lead out onto some kind of throughway.

His breath coming in short bursts, Shinji pressed himself against the wall and edged out until he could see round the corner.

He flinched as an image shot through his head.

He'd been like this once before: pressed against a building, spying round a corner, a strange black and white sphere hanging silently in the air.

Then he'd done something, something stupid.

What had happened then?

Shinji clenched his eyes shut and forced himself back to the present. The street appeared empty.

He looked up at the sky, only to realise that there wasn't one. Where there should've been blue, dull metallic grey stretched out in all directions.

He looked up in awe. It almost reminded him of the Geo-front.

Shinji hissed as a series of memories awoke, connections being made as more paths around his brain opened. He willed for more, but still he couldn't draw them out from beyond the stars that so blocked his memory.

He flinched as the sound of guttural laughter echoed up the street. He pulled quickly back, but froze as he sighted what came round the corner.

More aliens, only these were even stranger than the last.

Two hulking creatures in armour lumbered up the street, they had large, scaled foreheads and hunched backs.

They seemed to be almost drunkenly joking with a different kind of alien creature; it was scrawnier than the others but far more unsettling: It had a head with two crests at the rear, large red eyes and a prominent set of very sharp-looking teeth to top off the ensemble.

Terror rose up in Shinji's body, 'by god…just where in the hell am I?'

And like a deer in headlights, Shinji froze as one of the larger creatures sighted him out of the corner of its eye.

Shinji staggered back a step as the alien nudged his comrades and nodded in his direction.

The other larger alien glowered at him, "What'cha lookin' at, human?" he growled in a deep, low voice.

Shinji shook his head mutely, walking slowly back. The alien with the teeth smirked, "Human out all alone? No Talons around. _Brave…_" it said, the voice almost a threatening screech.

The smaller alien was walking towards him, his red eyes glinting with malice. Shinji didn't care what gripe it had with humans, all he did care about was that he was probably about to die.

And so he ran.

Exhausted he may have been, Shinji still found himself running faster than he numbly remembered himself capable of.

Through the abject, soul-consuming terror, he realised something was amiss. His body didn't feel quite…_right_.

Shinji didn't look back as he curved into another side street that was even further off the beaten track and ducked into the shadows, crouching down into a corner.

He winced as another image flashed by his eyes. He'd been in a situation like this before. There was a man there, a man with a gun.

Shinji had felt the cold of the barrel against his temple, felt the click vibrate through it as the hammer was pulled. The man had asked him not to hate him.

But again, something happened…someone else was there…someone very important to him.

Shinji was only vacantly aware of the alien, a Vorcha he would later learn it was called, as it peered round into the alleyway, its acclimatised eyes picking up the concealed human easily.

The creature didn't notice however that his two accomplices had mysteriously vanished from behind him as he stalked towards his prey, slipping free a wicked-looking curved dagger. He ran his tongue over his teeth as he crept closer.

Shinji was alerted when he felt cold steel press against his throat. Through his confusion he really wasn't sure if this was real or just part of a memory.

Then the shot rang out.

A face flashed before Shinji's mind's eye. A woman: A woman in a red coat with long, dark hair.

Shinji looked up in shock to see the ferocious-looking alien towering over him. Only it was totally still, a look of absolute shock on its face.

Shinji flinched as another shot echoed through the alley and, to the young human's surprise, the creature's entire body seemed to turn blue and solidify as if it were made of crystal.

Shinji felt the air chill so suddenly that frostbite began to form on the side of his face.

A third shot came, and Shinji threw his arms up just as the alien exploded into shards of ice about him.

Shinji looked up from behind his arms to find the alien from earlier standing at the end of the alleyway, a still-smoking pistol in his outstretched hand.

Shinji looked at the alien in silence as he put the weapon away somewhere behind his back, "I wouldn't worry about the other two. That's the thing about Krogans; very easy to sneak up on from behind. Vorcha, on the other hand…ooh, nasty reflexes, best to stop them cold -pun very much intended."

Shinji shuffled away as the gunner sighed and walked slowly towards him, stopping a few feet away, "I'll make a deal with you: I'll stay over here. And you don't go running off like that again. Seriously, you are much faster than you look." Shinji watched as the alien leaned back against the opposite wall of the alley and, with a grunt, dropped down into a seating position facing him, "Now then…" he sighed, and Shinji flinched backwards against the wall, "Your name is Shinji Ikari, is it not?"

Shinji's eyes widened, "W-who are you?"

He cocked his head, "My name is Garrus, Garrus Vakarian. And in answer to the question I know you're about to ask: I am a Turian."

Shinji was still leaning away, "And do…Turians eat humans?"

"Of course not," scoffed Garrus, "you taste terrible."

Shinji wasn't sure, but he could've sworn that the alien was cracking wise with him.

"A-and those others?"

Garrus looked back the way they came, "As I said: the large pair, who are now currently sleeping off a ten-fold dose of tranquilizer, were Krogans, and they, like the Vorcha –that's our icy friend there, _have_ been known to eat pretty much anything. Though for what it's worth I strongly suspect they were just intending to gut you and play with your entrails for a while."

"Well that's a relief…" muttered Shinji as he began to realise that if the Turian had wanted him dead, he most likely would've killed him before he left that hospital. That was when another thought occurred to him, "What about the other one?"

Garrus cocked his head, "There was another one…? What did this other one look like?"

"Like a scary bluish/purple space-lady..."

Garrus laughed, "Oh, and there is Aria T'Loak, straight from the mouths of babes. But don't worry about her for now. We'll get to that."

Shinji tensed up as Garrus reached into the pocket of his armour, "Here…" said the Turian as he withdrew a familiar object and offered it out to Shinji.

Shinji tentatively reached out and took the S-DAT player and pulled it back, his hands going over the smooth surface, "I…I remember this."

"I tried to return it to you before you barrelled past me earlier. Looks like the doctor was right though; your memory has been damaged."

Shinji nodded, "You don't know anything about me, do you?"

"Unfortunately not. You're officially a mystery. We had your DNA ran past the Alliance databanks and not so much as a slight familial match. I'm…sorry."

Shinji just shook his head. He wasn't sure why, but he somehow knew that they wouldn't find any relatives or friends who knew him. He slipped one of the earbuds into place and let his hands work the player's controls on instinct, lowering the volume to background level for politeness' sake.

He inhaled an almost pleasured breath as the music flowed out into the world around him.

"You like classical music then, do you?" asked Garrus.

Shinji looked back at him, "You know about Earth music?"

Garrus cocked his head, "I like to think I'm familiar with the greats of many species. Unfortunately modern music tends to be little more than rehashes and derivations of pieces already written. It would seem society has long plateaued in terms of musical genius."

A weak smile pulled at Shinji's lips as the blurred image of a boy sitting on the edge of a lake came to mind. It was an old friend, someone who hadn't turned out to be quite what he appeared to be, "Someone I knew, someone I can't remember that well, told me something like that once before…a long time ago."

Garrus relaxed slightly, "Do you remember anything of your past? Of how you ended up where you were? Do you _know_ where you were?"

Shinji was quiet as he nodded slowly, "In the EVA…"

Yes, Shinji remembered the EVA; remembered his mother's voice and how she would whisper things in the long gaps between times he had any awareness.

"That's good," said Garrus, "do you know how you came to be there?"

Shinji's eyes narrowed as he tried to focus, remembering that instinct that had flared when he chose to attack the one Garrus had called Aria: the instinct to fight and where it had come from, "There was a war…"

Garrus sat up slightly, "A war? And you were somehow involved? Did you hide in the EVA for safety or…?"

Shinji shook his head, "No…I wasn't hiding. It was me who was doing the fighting. The EVA: I am…_was_… its pilot."

'So that's it,' thought Garrus, 'A child soldier.'

"Do you remember what you were fighting, or why?"

Shinji just shook his head, as a vague recollection began to build, unaware of what waited just beyond it, "No, I can't remember the details but, I think I remember the outcome…and the feelings along with it."

Garrus cocked his head, "And what feelings were those?" he wondered, trying to ignore how surreal he felt it was to be even having such a conversation. Garrus Vakarian was not, after all, a psychologist by any stretch of the term.

A sad, weary smile pulled over Shinji's face. It was a look that truly didn't belong on the face of one so young, "It was the feeling of everything being complete. Everything was…_done; over. I…_was over."

Suddenly, the S-DAT clicked… and Ode to Joy started playing.

Suddenly, as if a trigger was pulled, Shinji suddenly let out a shudder of pain as a barrage of memories came flooding back through to him from that final conscious thought he'd had before vanishing with EVA forever.

The feeling of being done…and everything that came before it…

Names, faces, thoughts and feelings. They all came back in a blinding flash.

He remembered, oh god help him, he'd remembered…

Shinji's back arched as he gripped his skull, Garrus jumping up and coming over, resting a hand behind the young human's head so he didn't smash it off the wall behind him.

The Turian looked desperately about, not sure what to do. He also missed Shinji's eyes change, for just that brief second from their normal cobalt blue, to a shimmering red crimson. The gems embedded in his wrists glowed dazzlingly for just an instant.

It was over as quickly as it began.

Garrus swung back around as Shinji collapsed limply back, gasping.

"Shinji!"

Shinji held a hand up, "I-I'm okay…it's…all okay now, Garrus."

The Turian regarded him warily, "Are you sure?"

Shinji just nodded.

He realised now why all he'd remembered were the stars.

It was because he didn't want to forget them either. He wanted to remember that universe as a whole and everything in it…because nobody else ever would.

It had been too much to remember everything, but now those memories were back…and he saw the truth.

The others: his old friends, they had always been there within the stars, but the wide vastness of his universe would soon start to fade…that beautiful universe that no longer even-

Shinji cut the thought off as Garrus put a hand on his shoulder, "I'm going to take you back now. Regardless of what happened, I think you'd be best at the clinic."

"I suppose..." replied Shinji with a smile.

Garrus was a bit wary of his sudden change of mood and just how…_genuine_ it had seemed. He knew the look too well: he'd had that same air of acceptance before the battles against the Collectors, and also in London just before the final battle against the Reapers. And now he saw it here, on the face of one far too young. He was also still concerned about his borderline seizure, but decided to push it to the side for now.

"Yes," sighed Garrus, pushing the thought one side, "we've got to go and see the scary space-lady, though they do prefer the term _Asari._ _All_ ladies, too; mono-gendered species, you see."

Shinji's mood seemed to get interrupted, because he found he just had to ask, "How does that work?"

Garrus opened his mouth to speak, then paused as if reconsidering, "I would probably have to draw you a diagram."

They were both quiet for a while. Shinji looked back up again as they walked, "Can I ask where I am?"

Garrus glanced up too, "You're on Omega. It's a space station out in the Omega Nebula, also known as Messier 17, that's in the Sagittarius constellation. You're a very long way from home."

A ghost of a smile tugged at Shinji's face, "Oh, more than you know…"

Garrus cocked his head, pondering the comment and went on, "Though the place has shaped up a bit thanks to the Talons, a former mercenary group, reforming themselves into a de facto station security force, Omega is still the focus for every drug runner, murderer and smuggler in the galaxy. The major gangs used to be a fractured lot, the Talons also being one of those parties, until they were forcefully united by the one who you could call the leader of the station, possibly the most dangerous and influential individual this side of the Serpent Nebula."

"Good person or bad person?"

"That's very dependent on your perspective. I've read a little of your world's crime history: You had your mafia, your triads, your Yakuza and so on and so forth…now imagine someone dangerous enough to bend them to their will and terrify them into submission."

"And _that's_ who runs this station?"

Garrus tilted his head, "It's also the same person you kicked in the face not half an hour ago."

To Garrus' surprise, Shinji didn't seem shocked, he just laughed, "I suppose I should worry."

"Ah…_yeah, _but…" Garrus trailed off for a second, frowning in thought, "I don't think she'll kill you…"

"Oh, and what makes you so sure?"

"Because, for reasons I can't quite figure out, Aria T'Loak has taken an…_interest_ in you. Don't ask me why, none of us have been able to guess her reasoning behind it. But then that's Aria for you…"

"An interest? Is that a bad thing?"

Garrus hummed as they turned onto the street with the clinic, "It might not be a good thing, that's all I'll say. They often say round here that it's better for an Ardat-Yakshi to have her eye on you than Aria T'Loak."

"An Arda-wha?"

Garrus cocked his head dismissively, "Think Asari sex vampire. And no, it's…not as pleasant as it sounds. You ready to go in?" he asked as they reached the doors.

Shinji nodded, "Yes…I'm ready."

-Ω-

They stood in the waiting area as Garrus reached for the door control, "Garrus," said Shinji, the Turian pausing, "will you do me a favour?"

"Hmm?"

"I'd like you to wait out here. Is that okay?"

Garrus looked at him warily, knowing how Aria was often one to act on first impulse, "You're sure?"

Shinji just nodded.

The Turian cocked his head, sighing, "If that's what you want. Don't say I didn't warn you though."

Shinji smiled and hit the control, "Of course," he said, stepping past the threshold. He paused, looking back, "And, Garrus?"

"What is it?

"Thank you," and with that, the door closed, separating them.

Garrus frowned at the door. He always got a bad feeling when gratitude sounded like a farewell.

-Ω-

Shinji paused as he walked into the office that had been pointed out to him. The doctor from earlier seemed busy attending to someone he couldn't see from his current perspective, but from the attire visible, it was clear that it was Aria.

"As good as new. You're lucky we got some Medi-gel on that as quickly as we did else you'd be sporting one nasty black eye there. It's lucky your nose wasn't broken too."

Shinji heard a scoff, "Had the damned thing broken and reset so many times, once more wouldn't make much of a difference."

"In that case you should take more care of it. It's one of your best features if you don't mind my saying so."

"Trying to butter me up, doctor?"

She laughed slightly, "Oh, I wouldn't dare."

"Shame," said the Asari almost wryly, "It was working…"

Shinji watched as the doctor caught sight of his reflection in the window in front of her. He nodded his head silently in greeting. Her eyes flicked down in front of her and back to him again, "Well I don't think you'll be needing any more attention from me. I'm just going to step outside for a moment."

"Was it something I said?" asked Aria with mild humour.

The doctor approached Shinji and reached past him to hit the door control. She weaved about him and departed, revealing him to the Asari.

Shinji wasn't sure, but he could've sworn the violet hue in the Asari's skin just became more pronounced. He watched her hands grip her knees tightly as she looked him dead on.

She slid to her feet and crossed the distance towards him, halting just within arm's reach.

Slowly, she reached behind her back, and with a mechanical click, Shinji found what was unmistakably a pistol levelled at his forehead.

Shinji made no move to speak, nor to defend. As far as he was concerned this was just one last thing to take care of, then all loose ends would be tied off…and all would be done.

Aria's knuckle cracked around the trigger, her other hand clenching into a fist.

Shinji remembered something like this happening before, so very long ago: an old friend laying him out to even out the score…

He looked past the gun, unaware that the flickering red light on the side signified a loaded incendiary round. He focused on her burning eyes, "You're Aria, aren't you?"

The Asari bared her teeth slightly, "I'm guessing Garrus told you about me."

Shinji nodded, "You're very dangerous, he said."

"Oh, I have killed for so much fucking less," she whispered, and Shinji could see her finger clench and unclench around the trigger.

Still their gazes did not break.

Shinji finally looked away, "I'm sorry…" Shinji didn't see Aria's anger flash higher at the presumptuousness of such a simple apology, but then he added, "I was…scared."

Against her will, Aria's grip on her weapon relaxed. She glared at him even as she found herself returning the weapon to its place behind her back.

She could tell that the doctor had been holding back from saying 'told you so' all the while she had treated the minor injury that the human had caused.

The doctor had indeed warned the Asari about the 'culture shock', even if it _had_ ended with Aria being the shocked one by the time it was done.

What irked Aria more was the fact that if she'd found herself waking up in some unknown place with a human looming over her, she'd probably have reacted the exact same way.

No, that wasn't totally accurate. She'd probably have burned the poor soul's face off with a biotic flare, but she really didn't want to admit that too.

But _still…_

Aria's relaxed hand swung round and struck the young man across the cheek with such force it made his ears ring.

Shinji was more startled at the fact that she hadn't outright punched him and, to be fair, so was Aria…

"Apology accepted," said Aria, a slight snarl on her face as she clenched her stinging palm closed.

Shinji nodded, not looking up, feeling his cheek burn from the severely ruptured capillaries. He tasted blood, realising her fingernail had slit his lip also.

He walked past her, and she took his gentle bump into her shoulder as nothing more than an accident.

Shinji stopped with his back to Aria, suddenly noticing his own reflection.

The reasons for the differences he'd been feeling in his body suddenly became very apparent.

His hand drifted up and idly ran through the length of his dark brown hair, how it had taken him this long to notice it frankly shocked him. The difference in his centre of gravity obviously was due to the fact he seemed to have shot up quite a bit in terms of height.

That also explained why he felt faster, how he _felt_ stronger…physically at least.

"I've changed…"

The glistening of something red drew Shinji's attention to the hand still touching his hair. He looked down at his upturned arm, ignoring the residual scars from the stigmata he realised he still had on his palms, he examined the gems that seemed to be embedded in each of his wrists.

'But those look like…no…they _can't be…'_

Shinji blinked as something was dropped into his upturned hand.

It was his NERV ID card.

Aria watched as he stared at the picture, his gaze switching between it and his own reflection.

"That picture looks a bit out of date," said Aria, deciding to try prodding subtly for information.

Shinji shook his head, smiling ironically, "wasn't the last time I looked…"

Aria regarded him, "So…that's how you looked when you went into the EVA? You've gotten a bit older somehow, despite being in quantum whatever-the-fuck-it-was form."

Shinji regarded himself tiredly, 'So the EVA changed me…? That or it couldn't keep me from aging entirely'

"I feel older," lamented Shinji, "Probably older than I look..."

"So do you remember what happened to you then?" asked Aria, crossing her arms.

Shinji smiled back at her through the reflection, "I probably remember a little too much…"

He looked down with a smile at his old ID card, his thumb running over the picture, "Lived too long…that's my problem." He said, and he felt something wet roll unseen down his cheek.

Aria's brow knitted into a scowl, "What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

Shinji inhaled sharply through his nose and turned about, smiling, "It's nothing," he said, "I…don't suppose you'd mind giving me a moment alone. I could…use a moment of privacy."

Something in Aria's gut screamed at her that something was wrong, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She regarded Shinji carefully and then nodded, "All right…" she said, backing towards the door and exiting.

"Miss Aria?" said Shinji, halting her in the doorway.

She paused and looked back at him questioningly.

"It was…nice to meet you." Aria frowned and was about to reply, but the door closing between them cut her off.

-Ω-

Shinji let out a long, tired sigh and turned about. He walked up to the door and examined the mechanism that projected outward at his touch. With a few touches, he succeeded in locking it from inside.

He then turned back about and withdrew the pistol he'd swiped from Aria's jacket and strode towards the opposite wall. He leaned listlessly against the window, looking out over Omega with the weapon resting limply in his hands.

It appeared that his hands had remembered they were those of a chef and a musician, and years of no use didn't seem to affect how deft Shinji was at using them, so much so that even a criminal of Aria's capacity hadn't noticed what he'd done.

With a few clicks, Shinji mimicked the action Aria had performed earlier when she'd threatened him with it, and once more the weapon was successfully rearmed.

He then leaned forward against the glass, looking out at nothingness as he remembered all those he'd lost…all those who were waiting for him.

Another tear fell from his eye as he smiled into the darkness of the barrel in the same way he would if greeting an old friend.

Was it time to go home?

-Ω-

Aria shook her head as she found the doctor and Garrus talking in the entryway. Garrus looked up at her, "Well I didn't hear any gunshots. Or did you just break his neck?"

Aria shot him a withering look, "It looks like he got his memory back, for better or worse..."

Garrus nodded, "That must've been what happened back there. Explains his sudden change in mood."

"Yes," said the doctor, "We were just discussing him. Garrus here seems to think he's suffering some kind of PTSD."

Garrus tilted his head in acknowledgement, "Something like that. If anything, the young man certainly has been through a lot, and I severely doubt that he's come out of it entirely _unscathed_."

"Have you decided what you're going to do with him?" asked the doctor.

Aria just shook her head mutely.

"I think it best I take him back with me," said Garrus.

Aria looked at him, "and what makes you say that?"

The Turian looked almost incredulous for an instant, "A homeless human with no protection, no past and no family? You were right about him not lasting five minutes by the way. Oh, and I was forced to reduce your station populous by one Vorcha if any further proof were needed.

"Face it, Aria: on Omega there's not a single thing standing between him and the mountains of scum that this place attracts like a magnet. He'd be better off under Alliance care."

Aria opened her mouth to protest, and then closed it as she didn't even know _why_ she was protesting, nor why Garrus' words borderline infuriated her so much.

She chose her words carefully, "I'll let you know when he can leave this station."

Garrus cocked his head, "_Oh_? And his wellbeing is somehow now within your domain?"

Aria rounded on him, "On Omega I decide what is and what isn't-" she halted mid-word as she realised something. Having Garrus irritate her had caused her to notice that a weight she was always conscious of when confronting someone was currently missing.

Garrus watched as Aria shifted on the spot, shuffling in her white jacket slightly, "What is it?"

She reached up behind the tails of her short coat and inside the lining, "My gun's missing…"

Garrus chuckled, "Aria T'Loak without a weapon? Though knowing you, being unarmed probably wouldn't deter you for long."

Aria ignored him as she padded about on herself, "I had it just before, when I was… talking to Shinji back in the office."

Garrus groaned, "Please tell me you didn't just leave a sidearm in the same room as an unattended human who may or may not be suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder…"

"I didn't leave…" Aria trailed off as the memory struck:

The gentle brush past;

The subtle caress of her lower back…

Aria's teeth gritted together as rage swelled, both at Shinji and at herself for not noticing him do it.

"Oh, that little bastard!" she snapped, swinging about and dashing back toward the clinic office.

The doctor caught up just as they reached the door. She mashed the control panel, only for an angry red error to flash up.

"It's been locked from the inside!" said the doctor as she fumbled to remember an override code that she'd never had any use for up until this moment.

"Get out of my way," growled Aria and the doctor looked back to see Aria's body erupt in a glow of blue-white light, a distorting ripple of energy forming by her right fist.

It wasn't the imminent release of biotic power that scared the doctor, but the look of indescribable rage etched into the Asari's features…

-Ω-

Shinji looked down at the weapon in his hand. He was shocked that he was even hesitating…there was literally no reason not to.

Wasn't there?

Had there become a reason; did he really feel that he was…no longer done?

Unfortunately for Shinji Ikari, the decision about his fate was brutally thrust out his hand when the locked door exploded out of its frame in a deafening eruption of smoke and blue light.

Shinji ducked as the door slammed into the reinforced glass by his head.

He looked up to see Aria T'Loak's form emerge through the cloud of dust, a shimmer of light swirling about her slender frame.

Despite the fact that he'd just been considering ending his own existence, Shinji found himself frozen by the look of absolute, burning fury in Aria's eyes.

The Asari flicked her hand and her biotic lash snapped the gun violently from Shinji's hand, leaving a nasty cut in its place.

Shinji looked back forward just in time to see a large, tightly clenched violet fist slug him clean between the eyes.

-Ω-

Shinji woke up at some point later with a throbbing headache, wincing as the light in the hospital room made the pain worse. He was on a bed in what was obviously a different room.

He fought to get to his feet a moment later, and the lance of pain that shot through his skull immediately made him regret it. He staggered for balance against the nearby window.

"No fucking Medi-gel, doc. I want him to feel the pain," growled a familiar voice. Shinji heard the doctor sigh in response from somewhere off to the side.

The first thing he noticed, besides the aforementioned pain of course, was Aria.

She was pacing back and forth rapidly in the middle of the room, swearing incoherently to herself under her breath as she did so.

Aria was indescribably mad, and she had literally no clue why. She felt like someone who she'd done a favor for had just stabbed her in the back, "Fucking _ingrate…_"she hissed, though she was not entirely sure at that point just who he had been ungrateful toward.

Of all the people who'd died recently, of all she'd lost…and here he was ready to just throw his life away?

But she didn't know him, so _why_ did that bother her so?

She looked back at Shinji, noticing him awake and looking up at her with those large, dark, lonely eyes.

He averted his gaze away from her. He let out a small breath, not out of shame, but out of exasperation.

She heard him murmur quietly, one hand cradling the welt in the middle of his forehead, "You don't need to ask, because I don't expect you to understand," an ironic smile seemed to tug at his lip at the thought, as if remembering something far in the past once more.

Aria raised a finger as if to say something, she clenched it as the words failed to come and began pacing again.

She didn't understand him. Of _course_ she didn't understand him.

How could he seem so at peace and filled with acceptance?

He was nothing but a walking mass of loneliness, filled with it to the point of suicide, and still he was content?

Something about him resonated within her, alright. He was lonely, and yet it was as if all his meaning had been fulfilled and he was so content to be at the end.

Aria had achieved all she _thought_ she had desired, and yet the world to her always seemed so hollow. Everything bored her. Life had no taste, no substance, it all felt so…meaningless.

She remembered that call in her head back when he was still in the EVA. Lonely, yet seeking hope, could it be there was a flip side to him too; that as content to end things as he may have been, secretly, deep down, he sought for more…else why had he even hesitated with the gun?

She wanted to understand him.

No, she _had_ to understand him. He was the key to her moving forward once again. Aria wanted to burn like the sun once more, not to be content as a glowing unchanging ember.

But as she looked at him, she realised these were things that went beyond words. She could tell from a simple look that he felt there was no real way for two people to understand each other, no matter how alike and dislike they seemed to be.

Aria's eyes narrowed.

No, there was one way…

There was one way she could understand him.

Shinji was still regarding the open view of Omega when Aria's face hardened, steeling herself.

She made her decision.

Aria didn't take her eyes off Shinji as she spoke, "You two," she suddenly said, "Out."

The doctor seemed hesitant, but she obeyed nonetheless after a brief pause.

Garrus frowned at her, trying to gauge her intent. He then nodded, "I'll leave it up to you then…"

Aria stood in silence for a moment after the pair had left, resolving herself. Shinji made no move, he hadn't even registered the fact they were alone.

Shinji's curiosity did pique a little when he watched in the glass' reflection as Aria walked up to the surveillance camera in the corner. She reached up and tugged out a wire from the back. She then moved methodically to the door and, with a series of commands, locked it under her access code. All this Shinji watched with detached confusion.

His calm began to disappear as he saw her stride across the room towards him. He let out a quiet gasp as she grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him about. She grasped him roughly by the scruff of his shirt and all but hurled him onto the bed behind them.

Shinji rolled over and tried to push himself up, shaking his head to clear it. He froze however when he realised she was already on him.

A deceptively powerful hand pressed against his upper chest and pinned him back down as she prowled over him like a cat.

One hand remained pressing down as Shinji felt Aria's weight atop him, her chest pressing against his. His mouth opened and closed in an attempt to speak, but no words came.

The Asari's other hand came up and gently tilted his head up to look at her. He became dangerously aware of the feeling of her fingertips brushing his cheek.

She moved in closer and Shinji felt her rest her forehead against his, so close that his trembling lips could feel the heat of her own across the distance as he looked up into her violet eyes.

Her scent filled his nose. She wore a strange, alien perfume whose fragrance he couldn't describe and yet somehow still made his body shudder and feel hot. Everything about her seemed designed to make others submit and focus their attention toward her like a laser.

Shinji watched as she let her eyes slowly close whilst continuing to gently lull him with her ever so subtle touch. And then her eyes opened, and Shinji's gaze was filled with endless, indescribable blackness.

Her lips tantalisingly brushed his as she breathed the two words; two words that changed everything…

"…_Embrace eternity…"_

-Ω-

_To be continued…_

-XA-

[A/N] Okay , okay…let me reiterate, still not aiming direct for the pairing. As twisted as Aria's relationship with Shinji may or may not become, it's not the primary goal of this fic. So just bear with me on this one. Anyhoo, this really has been an interesting week for writing. Hope you keep with me for a while.

See you in Chapter 6: Absolute Terror


	6. Chapter 6: Absolute Terror

[A/N] Well here we are again, got to be a record in terms of release times for chapters. I can only hope I'm not starting to bore you with this little escapade and that you choose to stay with me until the end. I'd like again to thank you for your kind words and suggestions, they as always inspire me to keep moving forward and the ideas are always appreciated. Now then, let's carry right on with this little exercise.

**Chapter 6: Absolute Terror**

Shinji gasped as the void enveloped him. He felt a burning, soaring charge flood through his core. Suddenly she was everywhere, she was _everything_; a cascading storm of feeling and emotion pulsing through every vein and nerve in his body.

And then it stopped, and he was hanging in darkness.

Aria floated freely in front of him. He could still feel the storm on the edge of his consciousness. And then it occurred to him what had changed:

She was holding back, and it seemed to be taking great restraint on her part to do so. It was like she was just edging to just dive into him, to swallow him up in the storm of her spirit; to revel in what he had to offer her and swim in the pool of his consciousness.

What terrified Shinji most was how tempted he was simply to let her.

"What…What's happening?"

"We're inside your head," replied Aria simply, "Or both of our heads, to be perfectly accurate."

"H-how are you doing this?" stammered Shinji, looking about himself warily.

"I'm Asari." She replied, "and this is…a gift, an ability our people have. I'm no biologist, so forgive me if I can't explain the precise mechanics," she sensed him about to speak, "And you want to know why I'm doing this."

Shinji inclined his head mutely.

He sensed mild irritation rise in her, "Because I don't _get you_."

He shook his head slightly, "I don't understand…"

"And neither do I!" she snapped, "That's what's pissing me off.

"You don't understand: I'm Aria T'Loak, and I make it my business to understand people and their motives. It's what's kept me on top so long."

Shinji cocked an eyebrow up, "I really have no plans to overthrow you, if that's what this is about."

Aria glowered at him, "I could break you with a flick of my wrist, and you think I find you frightening?"

"I didn't say anything about frightening." He paused, cocking his head slightly, "_Do you_ fear me?"

"Careful…" murmured Aria, and Shinji felt the maelstrom of her anger building within the void around them. The sheer intensity of her emotions was both terrifying and beautiful at the same time.

Shinji stopped trying to think in terms of just himself, and relaxed his consciousness, embracing the warmth around them, "This isn't about me," he said, catching on, "You want to learn about yourself _through me_." An ironic smile pulled at his lips, "…Instrumentality again, huh?"

He sensed grudging admission, and so Shinji nodded, "Okay, what is it you want me to do?"

Aria floated closer. He could see now that this apparition of her had the same black eyes he had seen just prior. He realised now that they were the same colour as the void about them. She leaned in closer until she almost touched her forehead to his.

Her voice spoke out in a piercing whisper that seemed to come from all directions, "Just open your mind…"

Shinji shivered as he felt her seep into his consciousness. He blinked his eyes open and, to his surprise, they were standing in a very familiar place.

Everything was blurred, but it was clearly EVA-01 that they now stood before. They were in the cage.

He shuddered as he felt the imaginary contact of Aria's hand as it rested on his shoulder; such a simple touch, and even that felt intense in this place.

She stood behind him, surveying the memory.

"This is…NERV Headquarters…?" said Shinji. The image then seemed to tilt and rotate, and suddenly he was looking at himself, "But…how can I be looking at me?"

"Self-image, it's how you saw yourself at the time." She tilted her head to regard the other Shinji," You were much cuter back then."

Shinji ignored the commment and focused on the still version of himself. His past self was looking up at something, a pained look of betrayal and anger on his face.

Shinji closed his eyes, "I remember this…"

Aria considered commenting on the stupidity of the statement, but chose not to.

"I didn't mean it like that…" grumbled Shinji.

She didn't say it, because she didn't have to.

Aria watched as the image tilted again, revealing more of their surroundings.

High above, a man stood. He was dressed darkly and seemed silhouetted by the lights behind him.

Abruptly, the image unfroze for just a second, a single sentence echoing through the void around them, "…Because I have a use for you…"

Aria cocked her head, regarding the man, "I don't know who that is, but he has the sort of face I'd like to punch."

Shinji smiled weakly, "He's…he _was,_ my father."

"Oh…"

"Don't worry about it. That's a natural reaction to have around him. He abandoned me for all those years…I should've known before I came back at his call that it wouldn't be for anything good."

She glanced between the man and the mecha, "And they used you to pilot that damned thing? Unless they were offering you serious money I hope you told them where to stick it."

Shinji shook his head slightly, a weak smile on his face, "I tried to, but there were…circumstances."

Aria was about to press for more info, when the image shifted.

They were hovering in the void, looking into the EVA's entry plug containing the other Shinji. The EVA's display showed a cityscape at night.

"Tokyo-3…" breathed Shinji. There was the slightest note of melancholy in his voice.

The image moved, and Aria watched as a giant, lumbering colossus walked into view. "The fuck is _that_?"

"It's called an Angel. But don't worry about that…" said Shinji dismissively, and suddenly the image was pushed aside.

Aria blinked in disbelief, "You're skipping that part out?"

Shinji shook his head, "It's not important in the long run. It happened so many times over…"

Aria closed her eyes, absorbing images of the great beastly creatures that contested for position as successor to humanity.

Her brow furrowed as a back block interrupted the clean stream of images.

Shinji felt Aria's eyes turn to him, "In there is the fight with the Thirteenth Angel. With all respect, I would…rather not think about that just now."

"Particularly bad, was it?"

Shinji took a breath, as if bracing himself to speak, "The Angel took over an EVA while its pilot was still inside. I refused to fight…And so my father used my hands, and did it for me."

Despite Shinji's efforts, an image flared into life.

Aria recognised the shape of an entry plug, only in this instance it was unmistakably gripped in the outstretched fist of EVA-01.

Shinji sharply averted his gaze, blocking out the image just as the sound of groaning metal filled the air, the tendons in the EVA's fist tightening.

The young human visibly flinched as the deafening crash of crunching metal and displacing liquid filled the void.

Aria winced also. She looked almost disturbed, "The pilot, was it…?"

"It was another child…like I was. He lived, _barely_..."

"Fuck…" breathed the Asari. She felt shamed when her own memory flared: She was trapped behind a force field, demanding Shepard overload the power systems and sacrifice so many civilians in her quest to retake Omega.

She wasn't sure what she would do if the situation were to repeat itself. In that way, was she even that much different from Shinji's father?

She shook her head, dispelling the memory that she'd manage to hide from the human.

"I see. And so you choked the life out of your bastard of a father afterwards and got your revenge…" said Aria, nodding as if it were the most perfectly normal course of action.

She had a thing for strangulation: it was so very an intimate way of killing, after all.

A grim smile twitched on Shinji's lips, "No. Did came close to doing it, though, but they managed to knock me out first. Lucky for them, I guess. You'd be surprised just how little effort it takes to crush a person with an EVA."

He was quiet for a moment, and Aria was a little startled when he added quietly, "…barely a thought."

"So, you defeated the Angels and won the war?"

Shinji was quiet, "Yes, we beat the Angels, but we didn't win the war…

"In the end, we lost…everyone lost. There was one enemy humanity couldn't defeat."

Suddenly Aria was surrounded by death; images of armed humans gunning down and massacring other humans.

Another image: There were more EVAs, only these made the one that had crashed into Omega look like a beauty queen.

Then there was another EVA, a red one, eviscerated and torn to shreds.

Shinji recalled looking on at this grotesque spectacle in the past in stunned silence, of emerging in Unit-01, only to find it was too late.

He suddenly spoke, regarding the image almost inquisitively with narrowed eyes, "You feel it all, you know…"

"What?"

He nodded at the image, "The EVA works by linking yourself to the Unit. If your synch ratio gets high enough, parts of the damage itself can be fed back. But you always feel what it feels."

Shinji let his hands flop down at his sides as he looked up into the picture, "That's why Asuka would've felt everything, and would've been fully aware…even as they started to _eat_ _her_."

There was silence for a brief period. "Have you ever been shot, Aria?" Asked Shinji suddenly, still looking ahead at the remains of Unit-02, "Ever had limbs torn off? Had arms ripped out of their sockets? Have you ever been _boiled_, Aria?" he looked down at his palm, running a hand over the stigmata still present.

The image changed.

The Earth was below, a great white shape forming up from the atmosphere, "Ever been crucified and forced to watch as the world below _burned_?"

Aria froze as the continent-sized entity rose up. Its red eyes flicked open and seemed to tunnel right into her soul.

Shinji looked back at the Asari, and she saw for the first time the tears in his eyes. His voice was thick for the first time, "It _hurts_, Aria..."

He looked back forward, "And so I ended it," he said, an edge creeping into his voice, "I ended _everything_. I tore down the world that hurt me. I took away pain and made it a world without ends or beginnings."

Aria could only watch in silence as the ceremony of Third Impact proceeded in front of her.

She'd fought monsters, but the white being that held all of humanity in its palms…it was something that went beyond what could be termed a monster.

Aria then noticed something odd: Shinji was smiling again, "But then something changed," he said, "I learned something new: I learned about myself; I learned that I could be anything I wish to be, that maybe everyone _didn't_ hate me; That, even if I hated myself, maybe, just maybe, that I could learn to love myself. I then realised that maybe the world wasn't so bad after all."

Aria watched as the giant form died and collapsed over the devastated Earth.

The image shifted and Aria was looking as Shinji stood alone on the edge of a vast orange lake.

Standing afloat on its surface was a girl, a girl with blue hair.

"But the damage had been done," said Shinji, "The world was dead. Humanity had chosen to return, but there was no way for them to survive. The people would stagnate and die. Earth would become their tomb."

"So what did you do?"

Shinji cocked his head slightly, "I fixed it," Aria watched as the other Shinji strolled slowly out, somehow walking atop the surface of the lake. He stopped before the pale-skinned girl as she looked at him, an unspoken question in her eyes.

A decision was made.

Rei Ayanami extended her hand, and Shinji Ikari reached out and took it. And with it, he took upon himself the fruits of life and knowledge: the combined power of Adam and Lilith's forbidden union.

"Energy cannot be created or destroyed, and so I chose to use it. I had to make sure that it never happened again. I returned to EVA, and began my task…my last duty as the Third Child."

Aria watched as the same wave that had swept the planet During Third Impact reappeared. Only, as it passed, the world beneath was changed: The axis of the planet was restored along with its ecosystem; Space-time itself was bent to his will and reversed, restoring the cities destroyed in the months running up to impact and back to their former glory.

But there was, of course, a cost...

To seal the AT fields of mankind, the Room of Gauf itself had to be sealed, and that could only be done from within, from outside reality; from the place the world was remade.

"I even made a new version of myself…" said Shinji with a note of irony, silence having descended once more, "Made from the Shinji Ikaris that exist in the minds of others, and the self that observes myself. I let him take my place in the new world at their side…and Rei thought she was the only one who could be replaced."

He cocked his head, "I watched them for a little while, of course; made sure they were all going to be okay…

"And they were. Everyone was so happy.

"I lost my concept of time after that, drifting to sleep within the EVA forever. Eventually they all would've died, and I can only hope they all _did_ live happily ever after. God knows, they earned it."

Shinji paused, frowning in thought as he looked out at the stars, "I wasn't really aware of anything in the EVA from there, just occasionally looking out beyond the veil as the Sun expanded and died, taking that long-dead little blue planet with it."

The starscape around them began to fade to black, "All the lights eventually burned out, and the universe itself finally went to its rest."

Shinji paused and turned to Aria, smiling so sadly and yet so serenely, "They're all gone now: My friends…my family… my world…" he paused, looking up at the last remaining point of light, watching as it too flickered into nothingness, "…even my stars." He looked back to her again, still smiling, "But that was okay…because I was done. What more could a person do? I had saved everyone; they'd lived and died happily. The story was over."

He cocked his head at Aria curiously, "What do you have when everything you could possibly accomplish has already been achieved? When everyone around you has been saved, lived happily, and passed on? What do you have when everything is _done_?"

Aria was quiet for a long, long time. What could she say to something like that?

Normally every word that passed Aria T'Loak's lips was thought through and calculated, but for once she just let the words come; she opened up just enough to speak honestly for that one brief instant, "…you have you."

Shinji's brow furrowed, "What do you mean?"

She shook her head, "You've done your job. So you do like people do on Omega when they're done for the day: you go out and have some _fun, _for fuck's sake. You go out and live," Aria halted as faces flashed before her eyes, "You live for those you've left behind...because we owe them that much at least…"

She let out a tired breath, "You never had a chance to live for yourself. You lived so long and for everybody else. Don't you think it's about time you get to live a little selfishly?"

Shinji smiled weakly, shaking his head slightly, "I'm not sure I know how..."

A smirk pulled at Aria's lip, "Then perhaps you just haven't met the right teacher yet."

He was quiet for a long time, "Perhaps you're right…"

Aria let out a slight humph, "I'm _always_ fucking right. Get that through your skull and you & I will get along just fine."

He then laughed. A warm, sweet sound it was. Aria found it oddly pleasant.

Shinji cocked his head at her, "Well?"

Aria frowned, "Well, what?"

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

Aria blinked, "What?"

He smiled once again. There was a warm, but still timid and unsure aura about him.

He really was everything she was not, "I once had all of humanity running through my head: I like to think I understand people a little now."

Seeking meaning: had she finally found something to help find her meaning once more?

She regarded him for a long moment, and then she smiled, "_Perhaps_…it's too early to tell."

Shinji blinked as she seemed to float towards him and he felt the veil of calm holding their emotions at bay shudder, "What's going on?"

Her hand came up and touched his cheek, his gasp echoed out into the dark, "Just...thanking you for your _assistance."_

This was a lie. Aria _wanted_ to yield to the storm.

And so yield she did.

Shinji was not prepared for the sheer influx of emotion and sensation. Suddenly she was everywhere once more.

He felt everything she was; it was like his spirit was being charged up by a roaring inferno of passion and strength. He awed at the sheer might of her indomitable will.

Aria let out a silent cry. She felt like she was drowning in a well of contentment that flooded her senses and complimented her heart in all the right and wrong places. It was like a breeze, tending the flame of her soul into a white-hot, burning blaze.

She hadn't expected this. She'd foreseen a bit of fun, a brief exchange of emotion and passion, but not this: This was like a drug; it was like she'd been dying of thirst and was now drowning in a bottomless well to quench her need.

Goddess help her, she was losing control.

She wanted more, and Shinji could feel it. It was like being devoured by passion and flame, a fire he'd never known before. He was only numbly aware of the actions of his body: the way their hands had become intertwined, her much more powerful grip dug into his skin until her nails drew blood, the pain only adding to the storm of sensation.

He was only partially aware of his lips against hers, kissing her hungrily and with desperation. He felt the sweet, searing heat of her tongue against his as she tasted him, _savoring him._

Then something changed, something on the edge of his awareness…

It was fear: a fear he'd thought he had shaken forever.

It was that awful fear of getting close, and the raw pain of inevitable loss. Measured against the sheer magnitude of all Shinji Ikari had lost in the past, the rising terror threatened to become all consuming.

Forget Hedgehogs Dilemmas, he'd gotten so close that if they _were_ hedgehogs they'd have impaled each other by now.

Aria couldn't have predicted what happened next. From within that now trembling sea of darkness that she reveled in, voices rose up. So many voices…_billions_ of them, all speaking as one to respond to his fear.

**OUT!**

Suddenly a bright orange flash of light filled Aria's perspective and she found herself violently hurled backwards, landing on the cold floor of the clinic with a painful thud.

She ignored her discomfort, shocked at how brutally the melding had been broken. Her heart still raced in her chest.

Shinji was on the bed, one hand clasped over his eye as pain shot through his head, "What…" he trailed off as he winced in pain, "What did you _do_?"

Aria said nothing. She just sat there looking at him in silence. It was as if she'd been drowning in ecstasy, only for the world to be instantly made cold, hard and mundane once more as easily as one might hit a switch.

She'd been rejected.

Aria looked away, suddenly unable to meet his eyes, "Are you alright?" she murmured, not getting up.

"It's...alright now," said Shinji, pulling himself up. The momentary pain in his head was gone, leaving a strange sensation behind. The rest of his senses kicked in.

His body still felt hot, it burned with residual desire, the ghost of Aria's non-too subtle touches still glaringly present.

He looked down at himself. On his chest, where the Asari's hand had been, were now a long series of scratches where she'd obviously dug into his skin right through his top, the clothing itself now seeming more than a little worse for wear. The palm of his hand stung from where her fingernails had dug in.

He closed his eyes suddenly as that strange feeling in his head tingled. It felt like…

It felt like…

Shinji's eyes were drawn to the Asari.

It felt like _her_.

Shinji chuckled to try and dispel the extremely awkward silence that prevailed within the room, "My head does feel a little strange."

Aria stood up, still looking away, "I'm…" she paused for a moment, as if searching for the strength needed to say the word she never said, _"…sorry._"

Shinji's cheeks still felt flushed, "It's alright…that was…I don't know what it was."

Aria smiled grimly, glancing at him finally, "Sorry. And I'm usually so gentle when it's a person's first time."

She had felt him push her away out of fear, of course. That rising emotion had been impossible for her to ignore. And she understood it: she'd survived this long by not letting anyone get truly close. Aria was always the one who intruded and took what she wanted from a relationship.

That was how Aria lived, after all: for herself and without compromise.

Shinji just nodded, smiling shyly.

He felt confused. His feelings were all over the place.

Aria knew he couldn't trust someone like that, not yet. He wasn't ready to put his faith in another. Having seen his memories it wasn't like she could blame him: it seemed in the end everyone really had either betrayed or left him. By the end…_literally_ everyone in his life was gone.

Except that one person…the one who seemed never to have left him until her very soul was on the edge of fading: the one in the EVA.

Aria took a steadying breath as she felt her resolve return once more.

Omega wasn't a place trust and loyalty was earned easily, but when it was…

Aria turned about and released the lock on the door.

"You two, back in here," ordered Aria, the pair waiting patiently outside following in uncertainly.

Garrus looked sidelong at Shinji, "You okay?" he asked, eyes going to the minor injuries that the doctor was already leaning in to check on. Her eyes flicked knowingly back to the Asari for a brief instant.

"Y-yes," stammered Shinji, his noticeably flushed cheeks reddening even more, "It was a very," he paused to cough, "…_intense_ conversation."

The Turian grunted slightly, "I'll bet it was…"

"Here's what's going to happen, Garrus," said Aria, folding her arms across her chest.

"I wasn't aware precognition was a biotic ability," replied the Turian blandly.

For once, Aria didn't rise to the jibe, "You're going to report back to the council that there's nothing amiss, and that there's absolutely nothing they need to worry their intrusive fucking heads about."

"Oh, and what about Shinji?"

Aria looked the human right in the eye, "He's staying right here."

Garrus rolled his eyes, "And I thought I already said that, for the sake of his safety-"

"-with me." Cut in Aria.

Garrus blinked a few times in surprise, "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. And you can tell that to the council too. Tell them these exact words: He's with me. And yes, Garrus: that is a warning. Now, any other questions?" she asked, her voice this time holding a slightly dangerous edge to it.

Garrus breathed a tired sigh. Dealing with Aria when she got serious was trouble he could really do without, "Just one. Why don't we ask what he wants first?" suggested Garrus, "By the laws of his own society Shinji is, technically, physically and chronologically, an adult – albeit barely. Should the decision therefore not be his?"

Shinji suddenly looked uncertainly between them. He really wasn't used to being given the choice.

Aria herself had suddenly become torn. She knew how little of Shinji's life had been under his control. The way of Omega was to let people be free to take their own course, but _still…_

In the end, Aria gritted her teeth and just looked away.

Garrus inclined his head curtly, "Shinji?"

He flinched, "W-what?"

"What do _you_ want to do?

"If you come with me, I guarantee you that you'll find your way safely back to Earth. I've no doubt the Alliance will make you feel welcome and help you find your place. Or, you can stay here, _and…_" he trailed off, glancing at Aria, as if that spoke for itself.

Shinji thought about it, finishing Garrus' sentiment, "…and take my chances on a space station full of aliens who probably want to kill me, and stay with a somewhat deranged, possibly psychopathic, space pirate."

Aria's brow twitched rapidly, but somehow she managed to stay quiet, "Pretty much," agreed the Turian.

It oddly didn't take much thinking on Shinji's part.

He smiled up at Garrus and nodded, "I've made my choice."

The Turian read his expression and let out a long, exasperated sigh, "You picked the scary space pirate, didn't you?"

He inclined his head in acknowledgement, chuckling apologetically, "I'm sorry, but that Earth is…just not my home. That world is long gone," he turned to regard Aria, "and I'm not even sure I'm entirely human anymore."

Aria didn't move, but she looked at him with eyes that burned with triumphant approval.

She'd found something new, she may have found her path forwards.

A small smile tugged at her lips, "Then welcome to Omega…"

-Ω-

_To be continued…_

-XA-

[A/N] Hmm, genre's really still up in the air at this point, but then that's why I feel 'general' is so underrated, gives you much more freedom of movement. Also had some IM's about if I'm going with the pairing thing and while that certainly wasn't my intention to begin with, I am curious to gauge the readership's thoughts on the matter, so I've opened a temporary poll on the subject. Who knows, may even take it into consideration. At early planning stages I wasn't entirely sure if I was to just to leave it at this chapter to be honest, end it with Shinji accepting a new life in a new world, but then I considered there was so much more to do with this tale, so much settling in and upheaval to be caused, and there were still so many unanswered questions I've raised and issues not yet resolved. So I don't expect the next chapter to be an epilogue…

Until then…


	7. Chapter 7: Passing On

V1.05 minor alterations to grammar and word choice

[A/N] Interesting reactions across the board on this one. Really didn't think this little experiment would garner that much interest. Also, Looking at the results of that poll I put up to gauge the whole pairing thing, all I can say is wow, it's so lucky I didn't put a 'shoot the god-child' option in there too. I suppose this fic really has become a bit open-ended, which is always fun since I get to play with the new ideas I had and otherwise wouldn't have been able to explore. Let's pick things up where we left off, shall we?

**Chapter 7: Passing on**

After a series of concluding tests, much to Shinji's relief, Aria decided it was time to depart from the clinic, Garrus having vacated their presence to report back to the council. The Asari led the way through Omega's streets, "We're going to make a stop on the way," she said.

Shinji just nodded silently, having not really been sure of _where_ they had been heading to in the first place.

Now that he'd made his decision to stay with her, he suddenly found himself unsure of where to go from here. He had literally put his entire future in her hands.

He felt his skin pale somewhat.

He'd just put his entire future in the hands of an alien crime lord.

He shrugged slightly.

In retrospect, still a better choice than joining NERV.

The former pilot was so deep in thought that he hadn't noticed he'd fallen behind the Asari by more than half the length of the street. And that was when something rammed into him from the side.

Shinji was hurled halfway across the street and skidded across the steel walkway. It was painfully clear that the push hadn't been accidental, nor had it been an impolite person's way of shoving past.

Aria halted at the end of the street and looked back when she realised she was alone. Her sweeping gaze hardened as she spied the downed human.

Shinji looked up, rubbing his shoulder to see two frighteningly familiar Krogan towering over him. "Oh, not you again…" he groaned.

He really was racking up far too many scrapes and bruises for one day.

"And what is going on here?" asked Aria in her usual low, warning tone as she strolled towards them.

Shinji tried to get up, only for the right Krogan to unceremoniously shove him back down with the flat of his foot, sliding him back away a few feet.

The pair grunted and shuffled as Aria stopped, looking between them, "This…_human_ killed one of our number; blood is needed! It's, ah, nothing you need to worry about, Aria."

Aria's stare moved systematically over the Krogan pair. There was an unknown symbol tattooed onto their necks in the shape of a jagged star. Obviously they were members of one of the many small-time gangs that flocked to Omega in the hope of making it big. These tiny operations tended to either get killed off due to fighting amongst the other small groups or, failing that, simply end up getting absorbed into a larger faction such as the Blood Pack or the Blue Suns.

Groups such as these sprang up and vanished so often that they rarely ever made it onto Aria's radar, and it never ceased to amuse her just how many people thought they were the next...well..._her_.

Aria then turned a questioning eye to Shinji. Noticing her gaze, he chose to speak up, "Strictly speaking, Garrus killed him. That was the Vorcha he was talking about, and I'm…pretty sure it was going to cut my throat if he hadn't helped me out."

It was obvious to Aria why they wanted Shinji dead so much; even if he wasn't directly responsible for their comrade's death, Vorcha were highly adaptable and prized greatly as footsoldiers among the gangs. For a miniscule operation such as theirs, the loss would be particularly damaging, and leaving the score unsettled would be a fatal sign of weakness to the other groups.

"This is none of your business, Aria," growled one of the Krogans, "Just carry on and leave this human with us."

Aria returned her attention to the Krogan, striding slightly closer to him, "Don't you _ever_ presume to tell me what is and what isn't my business. What I am curious about though is what business you had with the human in the first place?"

"Does it matter?" grunted the other Krogan, "The human was stupid enough to be on our patch. He was just going to get what was coming to him."

Aria was quiet for an uncomfortable moment, "_Your _patch?" she then asked, her voice dangerously calm.

The pair shifted uncertainly, "We…didn't mean it like that."

Aria swung about and took a few paces away, "Of course you didn't. Now let the human up."

The pair blanched and glanced at each other.

Aria didn't turn back as she spoke, "I'm going to assume he's on his feet now."

"Aria…" said the Krogan, a rare note of desperation in his voice, which was not something one hears often in his species, "The boss already knows about this. We-"

Still Aria didn't bother to look at them, "-_You _fucked up," she cut in, "Look, I don't know how long you no-names have been on my station, but you can mark this as the day that Aria T'Loak lowered herself to speaking to the likes of you just long enough to issue some friendly advice: On Omega, you'd better be sure you know who you're picking a fight with, and you'd better be damned sure that you know who his friends are, and his friends' friends. Fuck, you'd best know if he has any particularly nasty _pets_ before you throw that first punch. Omega _eats_ dumb fucks like you and your dead friend."

"But, the human-"

"-had Archangel watching his back when you went blundering after him."

Shinji watched the two aliens go deathly silent. He had to assume it was Garrus she was talking about, but he couldn't have guessed that the laid-back alien had such a reputation.

"Just be lucky you got out of today with your quad intact. And if your boss has any qualms about it, then tell him this: The human is with me." Shinji pulled himself to his feet. This time they made no move to stop him as Aria continued, "And if he needs any clarification on just what that means, then I'll spell it out: You fuck with him, and you're fucking with me."

The Krogans seemed to step back as Aria turned about and drifted towards them. She stopped with her face almost touching the Krogan closest to Shinji, "So let me ask you this," began Aria, her voice barely above a whisper, "Are you fucking with me?"

The Krogan blanched. Seeming torn, he glanced at Shinji and back, "b-but…"

There was a mechanical click accompanied by a high-pitched whine. "Too slow," muttered Aria as she fired a single shot into the Krogan at point-blank range.

Shinji watched in terror as Aria leaned back just as the Krogan screamed in agony, his body erupting into flame and being reduced to ash in the space of a few seconds.

The smoke cleared, revealing the remaining Krogan, still as a statue. Aria lazily changed her aim and levelled it at his head, "Same question…"

"No!" he barked sharply, backing quickly away with his eyes locked on the end of her barrel.

Aria turned the weapon over in her grip and replaced it slowly behind her back, "That's alright then. Now get the fuck out of my sight."

The gang member didn't question and quickly turned about, bolting for the nearest alleyway and was swiftly gone.

Aria glanced sidelong at Shinji, who had pressed himself back against a wall, "Don't fall behind again."

"Was that really necessary?" he found himself asking her, "You didn't have to kill him."

Aria's eyes flashed with anger as she rounded on him, grabbing him by the front of his shirt and slamming him back against the steel surface, "Now you listen here. On Omega, there is a strict food-chain in place. And anyone who goes against that, _well…_I believe that's just what they call natural selection at work."

Shinji just frowned and looked away. It was hard to see a point when you could still smell the burning flesh of the one who'd just been killed.

Aria released him with a gentle shove and exhaled a tired breath, "Look, just stick by me and you'll be okay. What happened here was just mitigation. They won't dare raise a vendetta against you now that a point that strong has been made."

"Don't get me wrong," murmured Shinji, still averting his gaze, "I'm glad you helped me, but I don't think I can ever be happy that two lives have already been taken because of me. Is anyone worth that?"

Aria smiled grimly, "I consider you so, and what I think is all that really matters around here, so stop dwelling so much on it."

Shinji fell into step alongside her, "Did you just compliment me?"

She just glanced at him and smiled wryly, but otherwise made no reply.

-Ω-

"Here we are," said Aria as they stopped outside a two-story building. It was more lavishly lit up and had a much classier air than many of the others they had passed. The presence of a rather stout-looking Turian on the door said to Shinji that whoever ran this place must be in good favour.

"What is this place?" asked Shinji, leaning in to try and look in the window but, like many of the other structures he had seen, the building seemed designed to protect the occupants and their privacy.

Shinji followed Aria as she walked in ahead of them, the guard inclining his head politely as she passed, "Just my personal tailors. Or did you think I was going to have you walking around wearing hospital fatigues all the time? You may not be too sour on the eyes but you're in dire need of cleaning up."

Shinji glanced at his reflection in the tinted glass. Indeed he did look more than a little worse for wear. His hospital fatigues were ripped and had picked up quite a bit of dirt.

Shinji himself had acquired a bit too much grime to be comfortable. The bruise Aria had given him on his forehead wasn't the most appealing sight either.

Aria halted inside the shop, folding her arms to address the empty room, "Tamara?"

Shinji glanced about. There were panels against some of the walls like those in the clinic, so he assumed they all worked off a similar system. There were also a myriad of other tools he was unfamiliar with resting on stands about the room. Mirrors were also dotted about in various locations.

What Shinji also noted was that there didn't seem to be any rails of clothing, which he considered odd for a tailor.

From a door in the back of the room, a figure emerged.

It was another Asari, this much was obvious to Shinji, only her skin had a much lighter blue tone to it than Aria's. On her arm was a glove that seemed to be projecting an orange holographic display. Shinji had seen a similar device on Garrus' wrist too, but this woman didn't seem dressed for combat. The tight-fitting dress that seemed to shimmer and subtly change colours as she moved was a clear indicator of that.

The shopkeeper's face lit up as she sighted the other Asari, "Aria!" she chimed happily.

Shinji observed the new Asari's brow furrow slightly as she registered both his presence and his disheveled state, "And to what do I owe the pleasure?" she asked, glancing between them, her gaze turning wary each time it passed over Shinji.

"Him," said Aria, extending a hand to the side, "Consider him your new project for the day. We're heading back to Afterlife and I need him to look the part. We'll be needing a full wardrobe, if that's not too much trouble."

The distaste in the Asari's eyes instantly morphed into an excited sparkle, "Credit limit?" she asked offhandedly, and to Shinji it seemed that the tailor was far more interested in what she could do with the very raw material that now stood before her than any payment that may follow.

"Unlimited," replied Aria with a shrug.

Shinji blinked, suddenly feeling even more uncomfortable, "B-but I don't have any-"

Aria rolled her eyes at him, "put it on my account as normal, Tamara. And you," she said, glancing at Shinji, "don't start with the whole 'don't want to be a bother' bullshit, because I really can't stand that. Besides, I'm getting you kitted out, not buying you a fucking dreadnaught, so don't even apologise either."

Shinji opened and closed his mouth a few times, only to look away with a slight frown. Obviously Aria had learned a bit too much about him from their aborted melding. Feeling he had to object to _something_ at least, he glumly added, "How am I even supposed to know what to wear anyway."

Aria smirked and Shinji suddenly felt even more unsettled, "I think you can just leave that to me," she turned to the other Asari, "Can you get him cleaned up meanwhile?"

Tamara nodded, and called out to the back, "Diselle!" she then immediately turned her attention to the tool on her arm. She punched a few controls and held it up towards Shinji. An orange wave of light swept over him quickly before retreating back into the device.

He watched as what appeared to be a 3D outline of his body shimmered into appearance above the tailor's wrist, "Oh, yes," she murmured, "Those are some nice proportions."

Shinji cocked a nervous eyebrow up, "Umm, _thank you_?" he offered, and watched as the curtain over the rear door was swept back and another Asari jogged excitedly out.

Shinji noted that this one appeared somewhat shorter than Aria and Tamara and seemed slightly more youthful in appearance. "Yes, mother?" she asked, rocking slightly on her heels and sheepishly glancing at the other Asari, "Hello, Aria," she said, her bubbly aura suddenly turning bashful for an instant.

Aria merely smirked slightly in response, inclining her head at the younger Asari.

Tamara indicated Shinji, "It would appear that Aria's consort here has…seemingly come afoul of some misfortune. I need you to take him in the back and get him looking as perfect as possible."

"I'm on it," she said, grabbing a bemused Shinji's hand and dragging him along with her.

Shinji suddenly frowned and looked back at Tamara in protest, "Wait, just who are you calling a _consort_?"

The tailor merely chuckled in reply and then turned back to Aria, "So what sort of thing did you have in mind?"

-Ω-

Shinji found himself all but dragged along by the smaller Asari and led into what was clearly some kind of bizarre futuristic salon with adjoining bathing area. The former pilot was glad that the aliens at least had a sense of modesty that was similar enough to his and so have the shower area segregated from view.

Diselle beckoned a hand toward the shower, "If you'd like to take a moment to get cleaned up, then we can begin," she said, smiling pleasantly.

Shinji nodded and found his way to a shower cubicle, or at least what appeared to be one.

"Just leave your clothes outside. I'll have something left there for you," called the Asari.

Shinji mumbled a reply and neatly folded his clothes up before stepping into the shower.

The controls were simple enough and Shinji let out a quiet sigh at the feel of the hot water. He then began to cleanse himself of all the dirt and signs of exertion he'd accumulated over so brief a period.

He winced slightly as the substance he'd figured was their equivalent of soap touched the still raw scratches on his chest.

After fifteen minutes and several attempts to wash his slightly matted hair, Shinji emerged to find a towel and what seemed to be a neatly folded green dressing gown. "Umm, my clothes are missing…"

Diselle's voice spoke up from outside, "Oh, don't worry. I got rid of those. Trust me: you soon won't be needing them. I've got the things from the pockets out here too. So just come out whenever you're finished."

Shinji dressed himself in the gown and walked out. The young Asari beckoned him to sit in the chair in front of the mirror.

Shinji sat down with trepidation. Even back in his old life he had never partaken in anything like this.

Diselle leaned back into his perspective, examining him critically, "Yes, much better. But let's do something about that mark," she then proceeded to apply a gel to his forehead. Shinji winced slightly, but the irritation faded, as did the bruise.

"W-what is this?"

Diselle shrugged, "Medigel mixed with an adaptive skin foundation; Perfect for hiding the results of a good night out." She then proceeded to brush his hair with what appeared to be a holographic comb emitted from the device on her wrist, which Shinji noticed looked just like the one her mother wore.

"Anywhere else cut or bruised? I will of course look away if they're anywhere…embarrassing."

Shinji indicated the mark on his hand where Aria's biotics had knocked the pistol away.

She deftly treated and concealed the injury, "Good as new. Anywhere else?"

Shinji replied with a tired shake of his head.

"So," she began, and Shinji was instantly reminded of the way the old barber who did his hair back when he lived with his uncle would begin idle chatter, "It's been a while since anyone's seen Aria with a human before. Well, when I mean _with_, I don't mean just happens to be standing there alongside, if you catch my meaning."

Shinji felt his cheeks flush, "It's nothing like that," he said.

"_Oh_?" asked Diselle, halting to regard him, an almost catlike smile on her face, "So what is it then?"

Shinji paused to think. He then looked away, "I don't know what I am to her. I'm just…someone she found. I was sleeping for a long time, you see, and she just…woke me up."

"Hmmm, sounds interesting, almost like a fairy-tale..."

Shinji chose not to comment on the remark.

Diselle continued, "But Aria's not the kind to pick up strays. I may only be twenty-six, but I'm not stupid." Shinji winced as Diselle moved the top of his gown open slightly, exposing his upper chest.

"Hmm, so it's not like that, you say…"

Shinji flushed and pulled his gown closed, "T-that's really not what you think…"

Diselle cocked her head, "If you say so. But answer me just one thing, okay?"

Shinji looked at her, "What is it?"

"If it's just nothing, and those scratches aren't what I think they are, then why didn't you ask me to heal those too?"

Shinji opened his mouth to reply, but no words came. He looked away, gaze distant.

Diselle just smiled, her mischievous gaze softening, and patted him gently on the shoulder, "Hey, don't worry about it."

The Asari maiden stood behind him and wafted a hand through his hair, "Now then, what shall we do with this lot? As is? Or do you have any requests?"

Shinji thought about just showing her his old ID card and getting the same cut he'd pretty much had all his life, but something stopped him.

"Something new…" he murmured, "You might say I'm on Omega…to start again." He looked over his shoulder at the Asari and smiled slightly, "Why don't you just do whatever you think will work best."

Her eyes lit up, "_Really?_"

Shinji nodded, "Yeah, it really is too long and something needs to be done," he paused and cocked his head at her, "That is…I mean…you _do_ have experience with…" he trailed off as it occurred to him that Asari really had no use for things such as hairstyles.

She took his meaning, "Oh, of course. I learned human hairstyling from my mother. She's got decades of experience. It's what makes you such a fun species to work on, but you never get much of a chance on Omega. We have a few human clients, but it's usually just 'short and neat' or, 'just a little off the top', I've never had a chance to," she paused to run a hand through his hair, sighing almost dreamily, "…_work properly._"

Shinji shrugged and leaned back, "Work away."

She nodded and Shinji realised she had another device on her other hand, which materialised into what appeared to be something like scissors. She slowly began to circle him, appraising him.

"What are those things on your arms?" asked Shinji via their reflection in the mirror.

She blinked and looked at her limbs in confusion, "Where? What's on me?"

He nodded, "Those…devices."

She cocked her head, "You mean my Omnitool? It's actually just one, not two; the thing on my other arm is just a receiver, but what about it?"

Shinji shook his head, "No, it's nothing. I've seen one before, but was just wondering what they were."

She paused to frown at him, "You don't know what an Omnitool is? Just what century have you been living in?"

A tiny smile graced Shinji's face, "I said I was asleep for a long time. I didn't say how long."

She leaned in to brush his hair again, "You mean you were in cryo or something?"

Shinji inclined his head, "Yeah, something like that."

"Hmm, that really is rare. But it's often not smart to look too deep into Aria's affairs, so let's get on with this,

"I'm thinking something tousled and a bit uneven. If you're hanging with Aria, it's best not to look too tame. Hmm, I think I know just the thing…"

A little while later Shinji found his hair reduced to a series of swept back and uneven bangs. The Asari had said something about framing the face and maintainability, but all Shinji could think was how dangerously close she'd come to making his hair look like a certain Angel he'd once known, and things were hard enough as it was without him getting flashbacks of crushing a friend to death every time he looked in the mirror.

Some time passed, and while Shinji was a patient sort, being forced to sit through the nameless skin treatments, hair touch-ups and manicures that the Asari forced on him was really starting to nag at his limitations.

He eventually got so fed up of the borderline emasculation that he simply slipped in his earphones and tried to block the world out around him.

He then realized that attempting to force himself into an introverted state really didn't work as well as it used to.

He popped the earphones out, the Asari having somehow managed to drive him to the point of finding Mozart annoying, "Please tell me we're nearly done…"

"Done," said the Asari, pulling back and clipping the container in her hand closed. She circled him, crossing her arms, "Are you sure I can't talk you into some facial art, perhaps a refractive tattoo like mine?" she asked, pointing to the art that ran down the side of her face, which to Shinji appeared to be some kind of shimmering ivy plant.

"I can honestly say," said Shinji dryly, "you've made me as beautiful as I'm ever going to get."

"Oh, you really are sweet." She turned to the doorway behind them, "Oh, they've left one of your new outfits."

Shinji glanced back and noticed indeed that a set of clothes had been slid under the curtain, "They've finished a whole set of clothes already?" he asked, pulling himself up and stretching out his slightly cramped muscles.

"But of course," said Diselle, "My mother's Omnitool is top of the range. The internal manufacturing plant is her own custom model. She's probably finished your entire wardrobe by now. Miss Aria must've picked this out specially for you," Shinji caught what seemed to be a note of envy in her voice as she bent down and picked up the pile, "Here," she said, tossing what appeared to be a bracelet over to him.

Shinji eyed the item warily and clipped it on, shuffling it into place below the gem on his right wrist, "What is this?"

"Standard Omnitool; I was going to ask what had happened to yours when I noticed you weren't wearing one."

Shinji tapped a control on it and Diselle couldn't help but giggle as she watched him flinch when the screen flared up. It had a time display along with several other functions. Shinji also noted a fund transfer control. His brow furrowed when he noticed that the balance indicator was currently set at two hundred thousand.

Shinji wasn't sure if that was a large amount of money, however he realized regardless that he was going to have to do something to repay Aria her hospitality. Shinji suspected however that money wasn't an important thing to someone of Aria's obvious influence.

"I'll give you a moment to get changed," said Diselle, who quickly dismissed herself back to the storefront.

Shinji regarded the garments carefully. He discarded the slippers Diselle had provided in favour of the lightweight black boots. The dark trousers seemed made from a similar material and were quite the snug fit, though Shinji assumed this primarily due to the tailors quite exact measurements. Nor did he question the simple dark waistcoat that fit just as snugly.

What did give Shinji a brief moment of hesitation was the long white jacket which was obviously meant to top the ensemble off. The synthetic material seemed identical to the one Aria wore, only this jacket went to the wearer's waist, the rear trailing slightly lower than that and into two tails. And it wasn't the colour or similarity of material that had Shinji hesitating, but the fact that emblazoned on the back was the very same symbol worn by Aria.

The intent was clear: She was marking him blatantly in her colours; an unmistakable sign and constant unspoken threat to anyone who looked. And Shinji wasn't sure if he was ready to take that leap. It was clear that the people on the station ranged from the kind and sociable to the downright murderous, and Shinji as yet had no idea just what kind of enemies Aria T'Loak had waiting in the shadows.

They really hadn't gotten down to the 'now I've openly associated myself with you, do you have any mortal enemies that I should know about?' chat. What Shinji had learned about the Asari pirate however, was that she knew the pain of loss like he did, and that she seemed to be going to extreme lengths to prevent it happening again.

Taking that into consideration, Shinji let out a long, tired sigh before slipping the garment on and adjusting the collar. It wouldn't be the first time he'd jumped in at the deep end and prayed everything would turn out alright.

He did, however, get the feeling that he just might not get the opportunity to make such a mistake again.

"Confident," said Shinji, flicking the overcoat out his way and slipping his hands into the trouser pockets. He turned to regard his reflection in the mirror, "Just need to stay confident," he looked at himself for a long moment and let out a tired breath, "Oh well...at least I'll die well-dressed."

He slipped his S-DAT into his jacket pocket and then grabbed his wallet. He grumbled as his NERV ID slipped from the top and clattered down behind the chair. He went to reach for it, but found himself pausing. He looked down at his old picture for a long, silent moment.

Shinji pulled back and slipped his hands up into his jacket pockets and walked off, his old self left behind…

-Ω-

"Just get it shipped back to Afterlife, my staff will know what to do with it," murmured Aria as she processed the final transactions with a very satisfied Tamara, who was still buzzing from the sudden rush of creative energy she'd got to exercise, "The Omnitool, was it-"

"Standard model...sort of," murmured the tailor under her breath.

"Usual extras installed?"

Tamara cocked her head mutely in acknowledgement, not wanting to vocally admit to illegal modification of an Omnitool.

Aria nodded, "good work as always, Tamara. Now if we can just-"Aria's words died as Shinji appeared from the rear section of the shop.

Unlike its usual effect on the fairer gender of his species, it appeared the makeover experience had left Shinji seeming quite irritated.

Tamara hummed appreciatively and Aria leaned in closer, tapping the display on the tailor's Omnitool, murmuring, "There's a little something extra for Diselle. My compliments."

"Well?" asked Shinji tiredly, not liking the unreadable way Aria was looking at him, "How do I look?"

Aria nodded at him, "You look like…_you._"

Shinji smiled with mild appreciation, "Thanks. So what happens now? And…what about the EVA?" he asked, deciding to try and turn to more serious matters.

Aria killed her Omnitool display and folded her arms, eyes flicking to the tailor and back. Shinji understood: obviously Aria was trying not to let information on Unit-01 become too common knowledge, "That can wait. Right now there's something more important for us to do. It's time to introduce you to the true face of your new world."

-Ω-

Shinji followed Aria until she stopped at the end of the street, "There's one more thing I want to give you. There's a series of clips on the back of your belt. They're designed for this."

Aria reached into the lining of her jacket and withdrew a white pistol, "It's a human model, not really my style. I looted it from the bastard who tried to take this place from me. Now I really don't like loaning out my trophies, so for fuck's sake, please don't lose it."

Shinji had his hand half outstretched to take the weapon. Aria noticed his hesitation, "I've seen in your memories that you've used a gun to defend yourself, even if it was against monsters in your EVA. This is no different. There are monsters out there that will kill you if you don't kill them first,

"It'll be your decision whether to exercise that action; all I'm giving you is the choice. Not many people get that much…"

Shinji had to admit, the Asari knew how to make a point. He assumed that long life just brought that naturally.

He nodded once and took the offered weapon from Aria. He regarded the markings on the side, which labelled it as an M-77 Paladin and, after a slight bit of fumbling, locked it into place behind his back.

"There's also a few special add-ons included in your Omnitool. I won't go into all of them, but there's one I think you should know about right now. There's a concealed control on the underside of the bracelet. Uncover it and press it in.

Shinji looked carefully at the device and located the button and clicked it in as advised. He flinched as the side of the bracelet sprung open and a grip extended out over the palm of his hand. He gripped it reflexively and, to his mounting surprise found a short, translucent orange blade shimmering into existence.

"What is this?"

"It's called an Omni-blade. I've seen how good you are in a knife fight, so I thought you might… _appreciate _the sentiment."

Shinji regarded the shimmering weapon in disbelief. He unclicked the button underneath and it slid back into place

A pistol and some kind of concealed prog. knife?

Just who in the hell did she think he was going to be getting into fights with?

"But don't worry. I'll make sure anyone who comes for you will be dead long before you get the chance to use those. I just feel there's no such thing as being too prepared."

"In case I end up having to save your life, you mean?" asked Shinji.

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Are you trying to be funny?"

"I don't know," Shinji replied, a ghost of a smile on his face, "Is it working?"

Aria just smirked and turned to lead on.

Shinji considered what she had armed him with, and realised that it would have indeed been slightly more comforting to have had _something_ when those two Krogans were on him earlier.

It wasn't like he had EVA any more to help him…

-Ω-

They turned onto a walkway leading up to a well-lit entrance.

Shinji could feel the subtle thrum of bass in the air and noticed the marked increase in people.

Aria's presence, and by extension Shinji's, was already attracting stares and murmurs from the patrons mulling about outside the club.

The unwanted attention was making Shinji somewhat uncomfortable, but Shinji rightly assumed that this was all part of his new companion's intent: she wanted people to take notice.

Aria had stopped and was looking up at the entrance in silence.

Shinji approached her side unsurely, "So…this is Afterlife?"

Aria nodded, not taking her eyes off the club as she spoke "Yes. And we're about to go inside. From here on in you do not leave my side. Just follow my lead and I swear you'll have the time of your life."

"And what if someone tries to-"

"-to fuck with you?" finished Aria almost jokingly. She looked at him and smiled, "There was a reason I burned that Krogan earlier and left the other alive. It's the same reason I hung around a tailor's for the past couple of hours."

Shinji shrugged, "I just thought you enjoyed shopping..." he muttered, "You mean you were just giving time for word to spread?"

She cocked her head in acknowledgement, "I saw the opportunity and I took it. You'll soon learn, Shinji, that there is often a lot more to both me and what I do than meets the eye."

A small smile pulled at Shinji's lip, "I think I'm starting to work that out already."

Shinji flinched as he felt Aria hook her arm with casual intent over his shoulder and began to lead him inside, "Then perhaps there's hope for you yet…"

-Ω-

_To be continued…_

-XA-

[A/N] Hmm more of an interlude chapter to set things up and put frame to the scene. I'm letting the plot very slowly take shape on this one, as it's really no fun just to blunder in and make it clear where I'm going with this, but all I can say is that even with the storyline I'm working on it would remain very open ended in terms of adding more on. Which is always fun.

Catch you in Chapter 8: Heaven's Door.


	8. Chapter 8: Heaven's Door

V1.09 25/06 minor dialogue changes

5[A/N] And here we are again. Wow, I'd take a break on this fic, but when you're on a roll, you're on a roll. All I can really say is that I'm glad you're enjoying it thus far and hope you enjoy what is to come. Looks like my curiosity about opinion on the pairing thing has been definitively answered…hrm…might have to take this into consideration… but regardless, thanks to Cylon One for his help with the revisions on the earlier chapters which have been redone accordingly, also gave me an opportunity to add little bits here and there also to flesh things out a tad, so I'm quite happy with the way it's all turned out and same will be done with this chapter, but enough of all that. Moving right along…

**Chapter 8: Heaven's Door**

"There's a bit of a queue…" said Shinji as they approached the entryway, "Does it normally take long to get in?"

Aria blinked and looked at him with a confused frown. She immediately looked back ahead and let out a quick, amused chuckle, "Oh that is just adorable…" and then she was walking straight by the man on the door. He spared her no more than the briefest flick of his eyes before going back to the regular clientele.

Shinji noted how the people in the long corridor leading inside parted for the Asari like she were a jet of air through flame, some openly swerving to avoid her.

He tried not to let his nerves show. Aria walked with her head held high, gaze affixed dead ahead. Shinji was acutely aware of the arm she had draped casually around his back, her hand resting on his shoulder with a soft, subtle grip. She paused at the end of the corridor before the final door that led into the main floor of the club.

She kept her gaze right ahead as she spoke, "Shinji…I'm going to give you one more chance to back out now. You saw what I did earlier, and I saw how much you didn't approve. But I'm going to be honest with you: I guarantee that if you stay with me, that sort of thing _will_ happen again. I will kill to protect my interests in the same way I killed to protect you. I also guarantee you will probably see and observe some really nasty shit that you also wouldn't approve of. If you turn back now, you can return to Garrus and he can still take you back to Earth. True, I invested a little in you earlier, but it's only fair I give you this last chance to back out because, once you walk in there, _with_ _me_, that's it; both my associates and enemies will forever see you as an ally of mine, and I won't deny that there are risks associated with that."

Aria didn't look at him, nor did she pressure him to hurry up and answer and, despite the vibrancy of the music and voices of the patrons in the air, it was oddly quiet in that one spot.

"You're right," Shinji finally said, "I don't approve. I don't approve of killing, selfishly or otherwise."

He let that statement hang in the air for a moment. Aria turned her head to look at him. Her grip relaxed ever so slightly, even though she sensed he wasn't finished, "I suppose I can also guess the sort of…activities…you get involved in, and no, I don't think I will or ever will, approve. I would be lying if I promised you otherwise.

"You're a criminal, Aria, and I am not. It is as simple as that."

There was another period of silence as Shinji stared straight ahead. He continued after a moment, "And while I can't promise that I'll ever approve of the things you do," he then turned his head up to look at her, a small serene smile on his face, "I _will_ promise…to try and understand _why_ you do them." He turned to look back forwards and nodded his head slightly, "Yes, I think I can do that much…"

Aria looked at him, momentarily surprised by the response, but then quickly hid it behind a mask of smug amusement. Shinji did suddenly however find the hand on his arm holding him just that little bit tighter.

"_Well,_" said Aria, turning her attention ahead as she stepped onward, "If that's your choice, Shinji Ikari, then welcome to Afterlife."

The automatic door ahead of them opened at the beckon of her hand as they crossed the threshold and into Aria T'Loak's personal slice of heaven…

-Ω-

Besides the obvious blast of music that hit him like a punch in the eardrums, the first thing Shinji felt was the sheer wave of dry heat. This seemed far less to do with the masses of bodies and more to do with the abundance of flame that Aria seemed to use as decor.

"_Well," _said Shinji, "this is very you…"

Aria had halted, letting him look about and take in the sight before them.

Several of the patrons enjoying their time on the dance floor raised a drunken cheer of greeting in her direction to which she paid little heed other than to acknowledge it with a minute inclination of her head.

"Post-evening shift at the end of the week," mused Aria, "Afterlife at its best…"

Shinji's eyes were drawn to the people around the edges, mingling and huddled together, discussing things in private. He felt Aria drag him back a single step as a pair of humans tumbled past in a heap, apparently in the midst of trying to rip each other apart.

"Umm," began Shinji. Aria leaned her head sideways to listen but kept her eyes focused ahead, "Don't you have security?"

"I do. But they're not fighting me, so why should I care? Besides, if that's how they want to cut loose after a long day, then who am I to spoil their good time? Come on, let me show you around."

Shinji watched with shock as one of the men shattered a nearby bottle and rounded on his opponent, who seemed far too dazed to notice, "Easy, boys…" murmured Aria as she weaved past them.

The man with the bottle flailed out to swing it at his opponent, and Shinji was glad he still had his pilot's reflexes as he found himself having to lean back to prevent the glass from slicing his cheek open.

Aria's eyes went quickly to her companion. She arched her head to the manic drunk and bared her teeth, irritation flashing over her face. She hissed silently through her teeth. Her hand lashed out and caught the drunk by the wrist. With fluidic grace, she yanked him backwards and drove her right knee straight upwards. Shinji winced at the sickening crack as she struck his lower arm, breaking it cleanly.

She released him with a flick of her wrist and walked on, shaking her head and leaving the man to howl in agony on the floor.

She glanced sideways at Shinji, who was looking blankly up at her, "What?"

He just swallowed, "Nothing…"

Aria led Shinji around the edge of what he realised was a raised platform. He arched his head up and suddenly found his eyes widening of his own free will. Aria intentionally slowed, smirking at his reaction.

"_So…_" said Shinji with a slight gulp as he watched what he now realised was an Asari in an extreme state of undress writhe and dance almost hypnotically around a pole, the swirling pattern of the glowing tattoo running down her entire thigh seemed to refract dazzling patterns of light into his eyes as she moved, "it's one of those kind of clubs too, is it?" he asked, his cheeks reddening as the dancer caught his eye. She seemed to linger, holding his gaze as she regarded him curiously. Her eyes flicked from his to Aria's and then back to him once more. She smiled pleasantly, holding his stare. Her expression wasn't sultry or provocative, just...very friendly. And that, coupled with her seductive moves, oddly allured the young human even more.

"Word has spread," said Aria, surveying the dancers with an almost clinical eye, "they're curious."

Shinji felt himself smile sheepishly back, unsure what else to do, "Well they all seem…_nice._"

"Oh, you have no idea…" murmured Aria into his ear, and she chuckled at how her sudden proximity seemed to make him shudder, "come on, this isn't even the best place to view the show. There's more to see anyway."

Aria lead them towards a downward ramp, "We're about to meet somebody," Shinji blinked and had to force himself to look forwards again to pay attention, "and I've no doubt she'll pry some information from you, so be careful of what you say."

They turned a bend and Shinji saw Afterlife's lower bar area come into view, "Why? Is it someone dangerous?"

"Dangerously perceptive is how I'd describe her…" murmured Aria, "she's just an annoyance who's here on vacation. At least that's what she says, anyway. She normally tends a bar on Illium, but since the damned thing's still being rebuilt after the Reaper invasion, she's chosen to…_impose_ her presence on me by hijacking my bar in the interim."

Shinji frowned, "Wait, so you're saying this person is a bartender, who's chosen to spend her vacation…as a _bartender_?"

A sardonic smile flashed over Aria's expression, "Don't ask me to explain how some of these matriarchs think, especially this one. Besides, it's fucking obvious that she's here for some other reason."

"Can I ask a question?"

"What is it?"

"What's a matriarch?"

Aria opened her mouth to reply and then, with a shake of her head, seemed to reconsider, "I'll explain later. I'm only taking you to see her now because I've no doubt that if I don't, she'll just try to ambush you when I'm not around."

"Ambush me? I thought you said she wasn't-"

"-I didn't mean it like that. And like most bartenders, she tends to specialise in the extraction and peddling of information, only _this_ particular bartender has it down to a fucking _art_. Explains her daughter, I guess…"

"Why do you let her stay then?" asked Shinji, glancing up at her as they descended to the lower floor.

Aria's eyes narrowed, "Call it respect –_grudging respect-_ for one's elder. Both of us know what it's like to stick to views that others of our race would find…questionable. Let's just say I admire her for her dedication."

Shinji looked back forward and noticed that the Asari behind the bar who'd been busy with a customer now had her gaze fixed squarely on him.

Only once Aria had removed her arm from round Shinji's back and stepped forward did the bartender politely turn her attention to her.

Shinji stepped back a pace behind Aria and watched as a tense smile spread over the pirate's lips. She rested her palms atop the bar, "Matriarch Aethyta…"

There was a smile on the elder Asari's face, "Hello, Aria." She then turned her attention to the human, "Hello, Shinji," she paused, noticing his startled reaction, "You _are_ Shinji Ikari, aren't you?" Seeing him now flummoxed, an amused glint flickered into her eyes, "I'm going to assume Aria has already warned you about me."

Shinji found himself at a loss for how to reply. He glanced at Aria and back.

Aethyta chuckled slightly, "So, yes and yes, then…" She leaned forward, steepling her fingers in front of her to peer closer.

The pose disturbed Shinji. It reminded him of someone he really didn't like to think about, "So…" she murmured, "you're the young man from the EVA, are you?"

Shinji opened his mouth to reply. He then closed it and frowned, finding himself feeling strangely irritated for some reason, "Is there any reply I can give that _won't_ let you guess the answer right away?"

The matriarch's smile widened, "Good response…" her eyes then narrowed slightly, "I think I'm going to enjoy talking with you, Shinji Ikari."

"Can I just get a fucking _drink_ already?" snapped Aria, slamming her hands down on the bar surface.

Shinji flinched. Aethyta didn't. The matriarch returned her attention to the other Asari with almost taunting patience, "But of course, Aria. What will it be?"

"Bottle of the usual," grumbled the Asari.

The matriarch inclined her head. She turned away and, with a wave of her Omnitool, unlocked a cabinet on the opposite wall.

Aethyta hummed with disapproval as she turned about, an aged-looking bottle with a top bound by a series of intricate threads in her hand, "I do hope you won't waste this bottle like the last one. Really, I sometimes wonder if your mother ever taught you the value of a credit."

Aria scowled, "I wasn't feeling too good, and breaking it helped me relieve my frustration. Money well spent. Now shut the hell up and give me my drink."

"Mind your tone, Aria." Chided Aethyta almost jokingly, "I may not be your mother but so help me, I will spank the purple off your ass if you push me…and it won't be for fun this time." She set the bottle down in front of a momentarily shocked Aria and turned calmly to Shinji, who was now gaping openly at Aria, "Now, what can I get for you?"

Shinji just looked at her with his mouth hanging open, his eyes going between the Asari, "uhh…"

"Just get me two glasses," growled Aria, and Shinji could tell she was trying to keep her cool by how tightly her fingers were digging into the edge of the bar.

Shinji noticed the matriarch's brow furrow for the first time since they'd met, as if she were going to ask Aria to reconsider. She then just shook her head and complied, "If that's what you want…"

The younger Asari gave the bartender a slightly scathing look as she leaned forward and took the bottle and glasses between her fingers. She then swung about and walked off. "I'll talk to you later…" said Aria to the barkeeper without turning back as Shinji fell into step beside her, looking warily back at the matriarch.

"Looking forward to it," replied the bartender, she then briefly turned her attention to the human, "And, Shinji…come speak to me again when you have a free moment."

Shinji was aware of Aria's gaze as it turned to him out of her periphery and remembered her words, "I-I'll see what I can do."

The matriarch nodded politely in response and immediately went back to her bar duties.

"See what I mean?" mumbled Aria once they were safely out of earshot.

"Yup…"

-Ω-

"So where are we going now?" asked Shinji as Aria led them back upstairs and to an area guarded by a very imposing Krogan. He noted that the seating area past it had much fewer people and all seemed to be slightly better dressed than the rest of the customers.

"To the top of the world…"

Eventually Aria reached a section cordoned off even more, this time it was guarded by a Turian and an alien whose species Shinji didn't recognise from those he'd seen so far. From what he could see, the creature seemed to have two sets of eyes, one atop the other. Shinji could also spy a dagger and pistol clipped openly to its belt.

The alien moved aside for Aria and regarded Shinji with detached curiosity before immediately going back to his former poise.

It was obvious that this was Aria's personal security, though Shinji strongly suspected that it wasn't really needed for the Asari's safety, and more to ensure her ability to remain undisturbed.

"A VIP section within a VIP section?" asked Shinji as Aria set the bottle and glasses down on a table in front of a very comfortable-looking couch. She then briefly looked up and passed an instruction to her guards with a mere glance. Shinji watched as they moved in and ushered away anyone who happened to be milling about in close proximity to them.

"That's right," she replied as she turned about and sank down into the chair behind her with a contented sigh. Shinji watched her lazily cross one leg over the other and lean back. He was reminded of the same air a cat would have when it curled up, assuming instant dominance of whatever it happened to be sat on.

Shinji looked out over the club and realised with a sudden flush that Aria really did have the best seat in the house. They were so close to the dancers that he could feel the subtle, swirling disturbance in the air as their bodies moved.

He rested his palms on the rear of the seat as his gaze swept out. All could be seen from here with just a mere turn of the head.

"It's as if everything's been built outward from this one spot," said Shinji, glancing at Aria, "all built for you…"

"Like I said," said Aria, glancing at him with an approving smirk, "top of the world…"

Shinji stood there for a moment longer, hands resting idly back in his coat pockets when he suddenly realised once more that the dancers were scrutinising him subtly.

His eyes flicked about and suddenly he felt quite exposed.

It wasn't just the dancers. He was being observed by _everybody_, from the people down below to the ones on the level that ringed about them above. They were trying to see what to make of him, to figure out just who this person was who'd appeared at Aria's side.

"Shinji," said Aria suddenly, catching his attention.

He turned his head to look at her, "What is it?"

She shifted slightly, "Sit by me."

"W-what?"

"You see any other seats here? Or would you prefer to stand there all night?" she narrowed her eyes at him, her tone lowering, "Sit down."

He blushed slightly and settled down beside her, trying to look as relaxed as possible. This lasted right up until the moment that Aria chose to put an arm around his shoulder.

He visibly flinched and she hissed for him to remain silent, "Will you try and _relax_?" she demanded, tightening her arm and looking about them.

"B-but…"

"It's what's expected," said Aria hastily, "They're all out there looking for signals, trying to work out just who you are and what you're doing with me. They don't know if you're ally, lover or enemy. Now just relax, go with the flow and let me mix those signals up."

Shinji managed to relax back into her arm. Beyond the initial shock, he found the contact oddly…reassuring. After instrumentality and letting someone rummage through your memories, minor physical contact almost seemed tame in comparison.

Almost.

Aria reached out with her free arm and poured a quick pair of double shots into the glasses with practiced ease.

She leaned back again, drink in hand.

Shinji uneasily leaned forward and took the glass. He glanced at the liquid, finding the colour hard to make out in the club lighting, "What is it?"

"Noverian R-"Aria bit off the end of the sentence and looked away to hide what was for her a rare rebellious grin that she couldn't suppress, "It's a drink from Noveria. It's actually my personal favourite."

He looked up at her, "Is it okay for, y'know…" he trailed off, nodding at himself.

"For Humans?" she asked, "As far as I know there isn't anything Asari eat or drink that's particularly poisonous for humans." She watched as Shinji cocked his head acceptingly, "Just neck it down."

Shinji seemed about to comply, but hesitated. The drink had a strange sweet smell, and he was about to confirm if it was alcoholic in content, but immediately dismissed it as a very stupid question.

"What's wrong? Don't tell me you're a lightweight," said Aria, hesitating with her own glass at her lips.

Shinji cocked his head, still looking into the liquid, "I wouldn't know. Never really had the opportunity to actually drink before. I kind of grew up outside of time…there wasn't a bar."

Aria just smiled, "Well this should be fun," she reached over and gently tapped her glass to his, "to new things." She then raised the glass up and downed the contents in one.

Shinji just braced himself. He knew this seemingly innocuous beverage was more than it appeared. Anything someone like Aria T'Loak drank to mellow out couldn't be in the remotest way innocent.

But she'd poured it; she'd made the toast; that meant there was only one thing to do...

Aria set her glass down just as Shinji poured the contents of his into his mouth.

He cringed, expecting something horrible, only to seem mildly surprised by the strangely fruity taste that seemed to buzz slightly in his mouth.

Aria lounged back once more, "Interesting thing about this is, the drink is strictly non-alcoholic to begin with. That is of course until it comes into contact with saliva. It then enters a rapid state of chemical change. It actually ferments just as it goes down."

Shinji frowned and swallowed, "Huh, I don't know what you're taheee-"

Shinji's entire body tensed as what felt like a fire was ignited from the back of his throat all the way down to his stomach.

Aria laughed heartily as he doubled over, coughing and staggering for air.

She nodded, smiling widely, "That's some good shit, no?"

He looked up at her with teary eyes, "Wha…achk… what the hell is that? Oh, god it's getting _worse_!"

She shrugged, "Noverian Rum." She watched as he gasped for breath, "How you doin' there?"

The searing burn slowly settled into a gentle warmth in the pit of his gut, "I'll live, I _think_…"

"Give it a second, wait for the buzz."

Shinji managed to push himself back up, Aria's hand gripping his shoulder to keep him upright just as the warmth in his chest seemed to flood slowly out through his veins. He wiped his eyes on his sleeve and glared at her, "Was that supposed to be a drink or a god damned chemical weapon? You must be mad to enjoy that, absolutely _insane…_"

"Want another?"

"Please."

Shinji followed Aria's lead and chose to sip the drink extremely slowly from there, noting that she had obviously gulped the first one just to get herself going. Shinji was already feeling lightheaded and knew just another few glasses like that would have him down for the count, or at the very least inebriated to an embarrassing degree.

Shinji blinked a few times to clear his head, unable to shake the slightly euphoric feeling spreading through his mind, "There wasn't anything…_else_ in that drink, was there?"

Aria regarded him, "What, like drugs?" She turned to look at the people below, "Those are for the people out there," she said, nodding at the numbers mulling below, "Don't get me wrong, Shinji, I've gone on some serious benders in my time and took shit that's made me trip my ass off, but if you want to remain on top, you've got to keep your head there."

Shinji wasn't sure, but he was starting to find the music oddly catchy, "and I'm…different to them somehow?" he asked, nodding in the same direction she had.

Aria spared him a glance, "Like I said: you're with me."

"And what does that mean exactly?"

Aria was silent for a long moment.

"I haven't figured that part out yet…"

Shinji laughed ironically at how he felt the same way. He had developed some kind of connection to the admittedly unstable Asari, but he really couldn't figure out just what it was yet, "So we just…wait and see?"

"Wait and see…" echoed Aria with a nod, "And until then, just do as I said and mix the signals as much as possible."

"So what does that make us until then, friends?"

"I don't have friends," murmured Aria, sipping her drink, "I just have me, people who want something _from me_," she glanced over at Shinji, "and a…_you._" She downed the rest of her glass, "but I'll be green if I know what the fuck that last one means."

Shinji dwelled on her words as much as one _could_ dwell when half-cut. He empathised with her sentiment, even if his solitude was far more literal than her self-imposed social one. He let out a sardonic laugh, "And I have an _Aria…_"

The Asari smiled grimly, "You could do worse. If you're going to dwell in the place my people call the Heart of Evil, you may as well dance with the devil herself."

"So, what, you're saying I really should just go with the flow?"

Aria raised her glass and necked another shot, "Don't worry about it. I have some ideas of where to go from here. But for tonight, just go with it and enjoy yourself."

The rum was helping in no small way to assist in Shinji forgetting the thoughts and worries that had been nagging at him. "So what do you…_do _when you're up here?"

"You watch," said Aria. She smiled satisfactorily when she realised Shinji's eyes had been drawn to the dancer gyrating not three feet from him, "And yes, there is _that_ to watch, but that's not what I was talking about. Look all around and tell me, what you see?"

Shinji scooted about in his seat to look out at the rest of the club, "I see…your dancers, people having drinks, some of them dancing too…"

Aria looked about, "I see some of the best exotic dancers in the galaxy doing their job and keeping the plebs so preoccupied that they can't see that nearly every dirty deal this side of galactic centre is being transacted right beside them." Her eyes narrowed as she nodded at various groups huddled about their drinks, "Right now I see four major drug deals being agreed, two assassinations being plotted, and no less than three heists being planned."

It took Shinji a moment but even he started to notice the difference between the groups that were either simply laughing or fighting, and those which were more subtly self-contained and in discussion, "How do you tell what each one is planning like that?"

Aria just smiled, "Lots of practice…"

"And it's okay with you that all this goes on?"

She shrugged, "It's not me they're planning to kill, nor are they intending to force drugs down my throat or on anybody in my employ, and it's sure as hell not any of my shipments they're planning to steal. Each to their own, as they say..."

Shinji nodded in silence.

Aria regarded him. She sighed and then spoke on, "There _are_…things I don't allow. Unspoken rules: People trafficking, organ pirates, biochemical weapon trades," she looked away, snarling slightly, "I don't want that kind of shit on or around my station. And it's not just because of the unwanted attention it attracts…"

Shinji smiled, "Are you saying that even Omega has standards?"

"In some cases, the highest." She nodded at the raised area, "See those Asari? You think they're here because they were forced to? That they're down on their luck, or trying to feed some addiction?"

Shinji eyed the nearest Asari with as much objectivity as one can when everything about that person seems designed to arouse. He glanced at the others also, none of them seemed in any way gaunt or malnourished.

Aria continued, "Are they fuck. They probably earn more in one night than the average military officer earns in a month, and they earn that because they have the pure skill and nuances required for the job. See the ones down below, looking up with their free will stripping away, hurling their credits away like trash? Tell me: just who out there is really in power? Who is taking advantage of who? They both know it's happening, and they both _love it_.

"That's Omega, Shinji: it is the best and worst this galaxy has to offer. It is the place of the degraded and those who degrade. The trick is walking the line so you get to enjoy both of those worlds."

Shinji looked around. Between the dancers, the drinkers, the ones freely and obviously snorting various substances, it was indeed as she said: It was nothing but free-flowing debauchery and unrestricted, absolute freedom, with all the blessings and curses that went along with it.

He was distracted when the dancer who'd smiled at him earlier leaned over to them backwards with awe inspiring flexibility. She glanced at Aria, "So does your new friend need any entertainment tonight, Aria?" she asked, grinning at the friend in question.

Aria looked at Shinji and back, "I think he's a little overwhelmed as it is," Aria then quietly murmured into the dancer's ear, "maybe later. I think he really likes you."

The dancer giggled and immediately went back to her duties. Aria turned to regard a now beet-red Shinji, "Oh, you are going to have fun, whether you like it or not," she leaned slowly in and whispered into his ear, "and trust me: you will _like it._"

Despite his upbringing, Shinji couldn't help a slightly lopsided smirk from pulling at the side of his mouth.

Perhaps caving to the dark side just a little wouldn't be too bad…

-Ω-

Keeping track of time in Afterlife was harder than it was in the EVA. Several drinks later and the world seemed to blur into a pleasant haze. All there was to Shinji was Aria, the music, the hypnotic swaying of the dancers and the intense, but still oddly pleasant heat.

"Yes," whispered Aria with satisfaction as the night simmered down from a crescendo around her, "this is the way things are supposed to be."

Normally by now, Aria would've indulged in a private dancer herself, or would've had her catch of the evening well within her grasp –sometimes these were one and the same, but oddly she just found herself strangely content to just observe with her companion in silence.

It was funny, she hadn't remembered doing that since…

Aria closed her eyes as the face of someone who no longer lived came to mind. She was brought back to reality by the feeling of a head lolling gently against her shoulder. She turned to look at the human who had drifted off against her, smiling contentedly to himself.

A smile pulled at her lip, "Guess that's to be expected. _Still…_not bad for a first time." She nudged her shoulder, waking him, "Come on, this isn't a hotel. Let's get you away."

She gently ushered Shinji to his feet as he yawned, "Hmm? What's that?" he murmured, more than a little drunk but, to his credit, not totally inebriated beyond reason, something that had surprised Aria to be honest.

"I think that's enough for one night. You didn't do half-bad." Aria put a supporting arm around him as they left the VIP section. They entered the staff-only area beyond the rear ramp and Aria unlocked the elevator there.

They disembarked in her private suite, high above the club, "This is where you live?" asked Shinji, looking about the dimmed but obviously lavish room.

"We all have to crash out somewhere, " she didn't bother to hit the lights in the main area and indicated a far door, "you can sleep through there, your clothes should have been laid out. You can store them away tomorrow, but for now you should…probably get some sleep."

As tempted as Shinji was to explore his new surroundings, the desire to sleep overrode his curiosity. Whilst he hadn't consumed massive amounts of alcohol, he had reached what was known as the 'drowsy' stage and, with a loud yawn, trotted off to do as Aria commanded.

The bedroom was dimly lit by the glow of Omega's buildings outside, and Shinji did indeed find a large pile of neatly folded attire waiting.

He fished out what was clearly some generic sleepwear and climbed into the large double-bed in the centre of the room.

Through his intoxication, he was only dimly aware that he was about to spend his first night in this alien place, far away from everything he had lost, with a new and possibly terrifying future ahead of him.

But, he realised as his eyes drifted closed, that could wait for tomorrow…

-Ω-

"So," said Aethyta as Aria approached the bar and dropped down tiredly into one of the stools opposite her, the club quiet as the clientele began to depart, "Put your sleeping prince to bed, have you?"

Aria cocked her head, "He started easily enough, but had quite the tolerance as things went on. Didn't see that coming; I thought he'd be wasted after the first shot."

The bartender polished a glass clean as she spoke, "There's been quite a buzz. People were expecting you to do something, but in the end all you did was…talk and watch? That's not very you if you don't mind my saying so, Aria."

Aria let out a slight grunt, "I'm only proactive when I know what it is I want. This situation is…_new_."

Aethyta nodded in thought as she poured the other Asari a nightcap, "But still: not so much as indulging yourself in a lap-dance?" she paused to bend down and set the bottle under the counter, a small smile tugging at her lip, "or indulging _him_ in one."

Aria laughed mirthlessly, "I don't do the dancing any more…at least not in public. No, my fee would be a bit more than our regulars could afford."

The older Asari smiled, "Now there's a tempting thought…" she then began wiping the bar as Aria nursed her drink slowly, "So what _is_ it all about, then?"

She didn't respond.

"Oh come on, Aria. You know I'm not one to tell."

Aria glowered at her, remembering a certain offhanded comment earlier, but she knew the bartender wouldn't relent and that it would be less tiresome to just talk for now. And Aria needed to talk.

"Fine," said Aria, "I'll talk. But only if you tell me the real reason you're here. Vacation, my ass… Were you even trying with that one?"

They locked eyes, and Aethyta didn't respond for a moment before leaning slowly against the bar, "The matriarchs are worried."

Aria rolled her eyes, "When aren't they?"

Aethyta sighed, "That's not what I mean. A lot was lost in the war. Power vacuums opened up all over Asari space. Industries were destroyed; Eezo output on Thessia has _still_ barely restored itself beyond a crawl.

"Whereas your losses were not nearly as bad, Aria: Mostly it was just bands of mercenaries that you'd sent into battle and only a few ships lost on top of that. Your influence is growing rapidly, Aria, your power rapidly consolidating, and it hasn't gone entirely unnoticed." She paused to shrug slightly, "And they know it's not like they could just take Omega from you if they got desperate. Thanks to the Cerberus upgrades to the station's defence systems, it would take a fleet just to get close, and by then the losses would be disastrous."

Aria sighed, "And so they sent you here to spy on me…"

Aethyta cocked her head, "I had little else to do at the time. Let it never be said civic duty isn't a bitch." She extended her hand, "Okay then, there it is: my secret mission whose secret I didn't give a damn about keeping in the first place. Now spill, what's up with the human?"

Aria turned about and leaned against the bar, "I have no idea. He's…_human,_ so very human, almost to a fucking fault…"

"Except he emerged in a great orb of light from a giant mech and apparently has a lifespan that could very well outmatch your own, certainly mine. You know…except for that."

Aria glared at the bartender over her shoulder, "Do I want to know how you know all that?"

She merely shrugged, "I hear things, but never mind that. Carry on."

Aria looked back forward, dropping it for now, and was quiet in thought for a brief moment, "I wanted to learn about him. There was just something about him, something I just couldn't understand…"

The older Asari set her cloth down, turning her attention fully on the other Asari, "So what happened?"

"I…didn't know how to approach it, so I chose a more…_direct route_ to discovery."

"What do you-" the matriarch's eyes widened suddenly, "_Oh. _Oh, I see…" she leaned forwards on the bar, a slight smirk on her face, "So how was it?"

Aria seemed to grit her teeth in her mouth, "There was a…problem."

The other Asari just sighed, "Aria, you know as well as I do that not all meldings-"

"-It wasn't that," cut in Aria with a shake of her head, "it wasn't…_incompatibility_…oh, by fuck was it not."

The other Asari leaned closer, a wry smile on her face, "Oh? Do tell…"

"It was like…" Aria paused, finding her breathing short, "like nothing I've ever experienced in a joining before. It was supposed to be just an exchange of memories and thought. I wanted information."

"But you went a little too far," said the matriarch with a shrug, "We've all done that."

"No," said Aria, "even when I did go a little wild, it was never like…_that_ before; never been so intense that I've lost absolute control. I was…lost in him. It was like I was drowning and not caring if I took another breath even to save myself. And by the goddess, he _wanted it._ I could feel it in every fibre of his being. I'd never felt such abject…need and desire before."

"Oh my," breathed the bartender, "Sounds…intense." Her brow furrowed, "So what happened then? Sounds like you were well past the compatibility stage."

"Fear," said Aria, "he was…_afraid_ of getting close as it turned out."

"Couldn't you reassure him? The melding would've allowed you to supplement his insecurity with your own confidence." What the matriarch _didn't_ want to say however was that Aria was probably hindered by a similar insecurity herself.

Aria shook her head, "It was too much. It was like being hit in the face by a wall."

"Well, that's-"

Aria cut in, "-a wall of fear strong enough to literally hurl me half-way across a room."

The matriarch blinked, "_Well, _that…certainly is a new one." She paused to think, "Though I hadn't heard he was a biotic."

Aria shook her head, "He's not. Scans showed little to no biotic potential, but this was no metaphor or mere mental backlash; it was as if his fear manifested. And while it wasn't a biotic ability, it was still real and tangible. Trust me: I have the bruise on my ass to prove it."

"So, he really is a conundrum." She paused to regard Aria carefully, "Tell me just one other thing: Do you…_regret_ trying the melding?"

Aria was quiet, "…No. But to say he has trust issues would be an understatement. Though considering some of the fucking nasty memories in his head it's not shocking that he's a little broken."

"And you think you can help him…" the matriarch nodded as she caught on, "oh, but Aria T'Loak doesn't take charity cases, so you must think he can be good for you too in some way."

"Something like that," she murmured, not wanting to admit that she felt complimented by his presence alone, like she had with so few others in the past.

Aria had to know where this road was taking her.

Aethyta pondered this for a moment. Her assigned task had been to monitor Aria's activities for any sign that she may start to become a threat, as opposed to the necessary evil she had long since been, but this situation presented an opportunity: If the human could have even the slightest positive impact on Aria, then the matriarchs may indeed become satisfied that the situation was under control. But there was the equal possibility of the catastrophic opposite occurring if something untoward were to happen to Shinji Ikari.

The matriarch let out a sigh as she realised there was only one thing for it.

She was probably going to get into trouble for this.

"Aria," said the matriarch as the other Asari began to turn and walk off, "were you aware that there's a Spectre on board this station?"

Aria's head snapped round, "What?"

Aethyta remained calm, "The operative came on board today. An urgent dispatch apparently."

Aria turned fully back about and walked right back up to the matriarch's face, "_Impossible_. If there were a Spectre on board my station then I would've known about it."

The bartender nodded, "Yes, you probably would have. Had you not been so…_distracted._"

Aria's eyes widened a fraction, but she gritted her teeth and pushed the feeling aside, "How would you know about it then?"

Again, the matriarch just shrugged, "Like I said: I hear things…"

"Yes, I'm starting to realise that you hear a lot. And just who might you have _heard_ this from?"

She cocked her head slightly, "A good source. One I trust more than any other in this galaxy. I assure you she is rarely wrong about these things."

"Okay, so who's the agent then?"

"That much we weren't able to discover, but I take it you know why Spectre is here."

Aria's gaze went off to the side, "The EVA…"

The matriarch inclined her head, "The _EVA. _And the human too, of course, considering he came from it."

"But why?" asked Aria, "The damned thing's dormant."

"They don't know that, and to be frank, neither do you. Unless you know more about what that thing is capable of than you let on."

Aria looked away, she knew what the EVA _had_ been capable of from Shinji's memory, but it was yet to be seen if it still held any capacity for danger. There was also that one other thing about the EVA she had to look into. "It's none of their fucking business anyway. This isn't Citadel Space."

"You know as well as I that Spectre doesn't care about that. And you've got to see it from their point of view. There are rumours flying about space that people are demanding answers to. Rumours about a notorious space pirate with a biomech the size of a _Reaper_ stashed in her storage bay." The matriarch paused, sighing slightly.

"Aria, you need to understand: if that thing can even move an inch by itself, it will automatically become classed as a weapon of mass destruction. And with the galaxy still recovering, do you really want to brave the shit storm that will come your way when fear turns the military forces of all Citadel Space against you?"

Aria's voice was quiet when she responded, "I'll have the EVA looked into, and they'll get their fucking transparency. So why don't you just leak that much back to them and give me some time to sort this all out."

"I'll see what I can do. And may I add something?"

Aria groaned, "What now?"

"Be careful, Aria."

The younger Asari's brow furrowed, "What do you mean?"

"You missed the Spectre getting on board, and it's lucky that I'm probably the only one who did notice, but just be careful where you slip up, even if it is on an eventual path to something greater. When the powerful cannot be reached, enemies often instead go for those they can reach in order to influence them. And so, if Shinji is seen in any way to present a weakness in you, then your enemies will not hesitate to exploit that by going for him in order to hurt you, and should he be seen as a cause of weakness, then your _allies_ who have a vested interest in you may be just as likely to remove him to ensure their own positions."

"You think I don't already know this?"

"I was just making sure, because by the looks of things, with Spectre getting involved, that process may have already begun."

Aria dwelled on the elder Asari's words for a moment, "Thank you," she finally said, her tone grudging, "I'll take what you've said into consideration."

"Sweet dreams, Aria," replied the matriarch, watching as Aria departed.

-Ω-

Aria had the slightest urgency about her as she walked through the now quiet corridors of her club. Worry was now nagging at the back of her mind.

"Fuck," she hissed, cursing herself more than the situation as a whole. Aethyta had been right of course, she _had_ been distracted. But now she would focus; now she had a goal again, something to protect once more and something to work at. If Spectre or the scum who dwelled in the shadows of Omega wanted to fuck with her, then let them try…

Aria T'Loak was ready to burn once more.

She reached the elevator and activated its panel. She was about to unlock it with her Omnitool, but as soon as the two bits of equipment interfaced, a small blinking alert on her screen caught her eye.

It was a security notification.

Aria frowned and brought it up, and her gaze darkened almost instantly.

UNSUCCESSFUL ACCESS ATTEMPTS SINCE LAST INTERFACE: **1**

Aria dismissed the alert and entered the elevator.

It had started already.

-Ω-

Aria ran her Omnitool in combat mode as soon as she entered the suite. Once she'd confirmed the presence of only one other life sign, she lowered both it and the gun she'd taken out on the journey up.

Her eyes flicked about as she sidestepped over to the bedroom and slipped inside, casting a weary glance out at the dark living area as she closed the door behind her. She only felt safe enough to set the weapon down on the bedside table once the door was fully secured behind her; she could take no chances.

Unfortunately, Aria could not alert her personal security just yet. No, she needed whoever was out there to think they were still perfectly anonymous.

She walked slowly round to the other side of the bed to look down at the single occupant, still safe and sound asleep.

Aria couldn't help but be slightly amused that, even when intoxicated, Shinji had still taken the time to neatly fold up the clothes he had been wearing and set them aside.

She frowned slightly as she noticed the way he shifted slightly in bed, the way his brow twitched with discomfort.

She'd slept with enough soldiers to know night terrors when she saw them.

With a sigh, she dropped down onto her knees by his side and gently pressed her brow to his. She let her consciousness seep gently outwards, teetering on the edge of his mind just enough to sweep the dark memories aside, shifting his subconscious into a more peaceful place. Aria held there for a moment and just stood afloat on top his mind.

She closed her eyes and pulled back away from him, pushing her temptation silently aside.

Disrobing with far less care than the one currently asleep, she slid into bed also and shifted over, keeping him close, her pistol constantly in reach of her other hand.

Luckily for Aria, she had developed a habit of being an extremely light sleeper.

She narrowed her eyes slowly closed as she regarded the sleeping form next to her.

Things were getting complicated…

-Ω-

_To be continued…_

[A/N] Yes, took a little longer this time, but also a slightly longer chapter, so I hope you'll forgive me that. Yes, time for things finally to take shape. Obviously won't reveal parties waiting in the shadows or any other such spoilers, but I hope you'll join me next time.

Catch you in Chapter 9: History


	9. Chapter 9: History

[A/N] Greetings to all. If you're still with me, thanks and I hope you're enjoying things thus far. Through the IM's and reviews, one question that keeps being raised is the matter of the EVA itself. Will it be used again? All I can say is this: It wouldn't be much of an Evangelion story without the Evangelion. So, yes, they EVA still has several major parts to play in this tale, but I won't divulge anything further. That's what the hulking great load of text below this paragraph is for…

**Chapter 9: History**

Shinji Ikari woke feeling less than well-rested. His ears still rang somewhat from the hours of assault they had taken the previous night. He also felt like someone had made his head three times heavier than normal. Despite the displeasure, he was aware of an almost comforting warmth that seemed to surround him from all sides. He was also numbly aware of something touching his chest.

'I'm starting to realise just how depressed Misato was to do have done this to herself every single morning…'

He pushed his discomfort momentarily aside as it hit him that he had actually passed the first night. This was his first morning.

'My first morning,' mulled Shinji, his thoughts carrying on of their own accord, 'living with a space pirate…above a nightclub…on a space station in a nebula.'

It really was a funny old world.

His discomfort rose when he shifted and realised that he even found it difficult to move, 'that stuff must've been harder than I thought…' he thought, moaning slightly and feeling almost like he was being restrained in some way.

"Do you have to move about so much…?" grumbled a groggy, but still very familiar voice from extremely close proximity.

Shinji's eyes opened wide on reflex. He instantly regretted it as he found the light stabbing into his retina like a shard of ice into his skull. He winced them closed and opened them slowly once more.

He looked down and suddenly realised that the reason he felt restrained was due to the arm circling his midsection. He suddenly became very aware of the soft pressure against his back.

'Okay,' thought Shinji, his brain going into such a panicked overdrive that it went full circle and became deceptively calm again, 'where do I begin?'

"Aria…?" he muttered.

"Hmm?" she mumbled, pulling him unconsciously closer and informing an already stunned young man that there was a leg draped over one of his thighs.

"Quick question: why…are you in my bed?"

"It's my bed," replied Aria with an annoyed mutter, her voice muffled by the pillow against the side of her face.

"No, I mean…in this room."

She groaned, "There's only one bedroom. Why would I need more than one?"

Shinji's brain stalled. Considering who he was talking to, that was a very good point. It was probably very rare for a Crime lord to have house guests.

"Okay," he said, his voice small, "I guess that's fair. But why are you so…_close_?"

"Why _not_?" she grumbled in annoyance, too tired to explain that the sidearm on the nightstand by the human could be picked up, armed and fired with one twist of her body from her current position; said position would also have the human close enough to instantly protect him within her biotic barrier should it be needed, but that was far too many words for that early in the day, and so settled on murmuring, "Never had any complaints to date."

Shinji flinched as he flashed back to when Misato's touch was on his hand and the way he had rejected her, but the Asari's grip was as firm and unrelenting as it was tender.

He also really had to wonder why it was he was even complaining in the first place. Compared to the melding Aria had performed, the physical connection, whilst still…intense, was nothing in comparison. Also, he found himself admitting, having a presence there all about him was…strangely solacing in its comfort, even if the one providing said presence was a ruthless killer.

Shinji also wondered what Toji and Kensuke would have said about the whole situation were they still alive.

Most likely they'd have said nothing and skipped right on to beating him senseless for even _thinking _about complaining.

Shinji's gaze was drawn to the bare, violet arm about him. He realised that the heat on his chest was due to the fact that Aria's hand had slipped up his shirt slightly and that her palm was resting flat on his chest to complete the embrace. His eyes widened slightly as a thought occurred to him, "Just one last question, just one…"

"Hmmm_what?" _she half growled.

"Are you even," he paused to swallow a loud gulp, "wearing anything?"

"That depends…" muttered the Asari in reply, who still hadn't opened her eyes.

"On what?"

"On which answer gets you to shut up and gets me back to sleep."

Shinji gulped again and nodded in compliance. He wasn't sure if Aria had seen it or not, but he suddenly felt her relax slightly against him.

However, there are some questions that a young man must simply have the answers to. And so, despite Shinji's better judgement, he couldn't prevent one of his hands moving slightly up from his side and going experimentally towards the general direction of the leg hooked over his.

Shinji let out a quiet gasp as his fingertips tentatively brushed against the bare flesh of Aria's upper thigh. He couldn't help but release a quiet whimper as the Asari let out a slightly pleasured murmur that bordered on a low purr, an amused smile pulling secretly at the edge of her mouth.

'No,' thought Shinji, 'definitely not getting back to sleep…'

What was to follow would be two of the longest, most enticing and torturous hours of the Third Child's Life.

-Ω-

And so, once she was suitably rested, Aria finally uncoiled herself from around Shinji and sat up against the pillow behind her, sighing contentedly as she stretched. As the covers slipped down, an inadvertent sidelong glance from an already bright red Shinji gave a definitive answer to his earlier question, if any more confirmation were needed.

Aria wiped an eye, finding herself in the rare position of being free from a hangover. She glanced at Shinji, noticing his eyes clenched tightly shut, "Is something wrong? Didn't think you'd drunk enough to leave you too messed up the morning after."

"That's not why I'm keeping my eyes closed!" he snapped, finally letting his tension boil over, "Can you _please_ put some clothes on!"

Aria couldn't resist the temptation just to mess with him a little more. It was so very easy, after all. She leaned in closer and almost breathed into his ear, "Are you sure you don't want to look, just a little?"

Shinji bunched up the covers in his fists, "Why don't you wear anything in bed?"

Aria shrugged, "The question is, why do you?" she asked, reaching over him and retrieving her weapon before slipping free of the bed and gathering her discarded clothing.

Only then did Shinji dare roll over and open a single eye. She had her back to him, but to his utter shock, she still wasn't decent. 'Okay, Shinji…' he thought to himself, 'Now look away. Just…look away before she-'

Shinji's brain froze as he spied Aria look him dead-on through his reflection in the window in front of her. She said nothing, merely smirked and headed for the door, thankfully at least draping a loose robe over her shoulders, "I'm going to shower, you're free to use it after me. Or," she paused and cocked her head, glancing at him, "you could just join me," her lip twitched as he looked sharply away.

"You're evil, you know that?" grumbled Shinji, who knew when someone was teasing him, and was also starting to suspect his capillaries of trying to cook his brain in his skull.

Aria merely smiled wryly and slipped into the adjoining en suite. Shinji exhaled a long, relieved breath and slumped backward. He let his head loll to the side to look out over Omega's cityscape, "Funny," he murmured as he looked out into the perpetual twilight, "I almost expected the sun to be up," he then laughed, realising how stupid that was; the sun was thousands of light-years away, and would be little more than a tiny point of light from here.

"So far away…" he sighed, and then finally sat up to survey his surroundings now there was some light.

Aria's personal chambers certainly weren't as lavish as he'd remembered the main living area to be. In fact, they seemed borderline conservative in comparison, both in terms of size and décor.

There were several innocuous dressers and large wardrobes around the walls, but besides the undeniably comfortable king-size bed and a nearby sofa, the room had little decoration other than the subdued crimson it was painted in. That and the mood lighting made the whole place seem designed to relax as opposed to impose; a stark contrast.

There was one thing he had to address though, "Aria…?" he called.

"Hmmm?" she murmured back in a relaxed tone.

"Why do you have a dancing pole in your bedroom?" he asked, eyes locked warily on said item.

"I sometimes like getting a bit of in-bed entertainment," she paused, her voice lowering slightly, "…and sometimes _providing it_."

Shinji's eyes went wide as several images that he could only describe as very risqué shot through his mind. He shook his head, expression blank, "What have I gotten myself into?"

Shinji all but shoved his way past the Asari as she remerged draped in a towel, "Hey!" she objected.

"My turn," he muttered as he passed, closing the door behind him. He considered trying to lock it, but then he remembered Aria probably could just unlock it if she wanted.

He sighed and headed for the shower, wondering if it had a temperature setting lower than absolute zero.

-Ω-

Shinji dressed himself and found Aria already clothed in her regular attire in the main living area. He noted that she seemed fond of wearing the same style of outfit day in and day out. He supposed that's just what happened when you lived that long: you tended to learn what you liked.

He'd donned the same coat as the previous night when he realised she'd provided him an identical one for each set of clothes provided. He also noted amongst the tops, and even the waistcoat from the previous night, that all seemed to be at least partly segmented into lightweight armour-like plating.

"Is this coat bulletproof by any chance?" asked Shinji as he walked out, still drying his hair.

Aria glanced up from the datapad in her hand, "Yes, the material reflexively compacts and solidifies when anything attempts to penetrate the outer layer. How did you know?"

Shinji just sighed, "Lucky guess…" he glanced about, "Where's the kitchen? I'll see if I can work out how to make something for breakfast."

Aria looked up again and frowned "What?"

"The kitchen. How do you…" Shinji trailed off and his shoulders sagged, "you don't have a kitchen, do you?"

Aria just shook her head, sipping the glass of water in her hand as she read, "Do I look like someone who cooks for herself?"

"I think you once did."

She scoffed, "Long time ago," and immediately went back to her work.

"But where do you keep your cleaning supplies? What do you do when it's time to tidy…" he trailed off again and didn't need to look to know that Aria was looking at him in confusion again, "and you don't clean this place either."

Shinji just patted himself on the legs and looked about in silence. No cooking and no cleaning? What was he supposed to do with himself? Though Shinji sensed if they were to do chores, their share chart would be even more lopsided than it had been with Misato.

"So what are you doing?" he asked.

She didn't look up, "trying to see if there are any other decent biomech specialists on Omega. We had one capable of helping with the EVA, but I was forced to…terminate his contract."

Shinji cocked an eyebrow, "You fired him?"

"There was firing involved," she murmured, her finger flicking over the pad screen as she passed over various personnel files.

Shinji rolled his eyes and slumped down onto the couch, "Okay, what did he do? Spill your coffee or something?"

Aria inclined her head, "Actually, it turned out he was a mass-murderer who wanted to chop you up and put you in a jar."

"_Oh…_" replied Shinji with slightly raised eyebrows, "I…guess that's alright then. I think."

Aria glanced up at him with a scowl, "You _think_?" she then just shook her head and went back to her reading.

Shinji was quiet for a long moment, "So that's twice you've protected me."

Aria smiled ruefully, "I'm glad you're keeping track."

"And that's three dead…" murmured the human under his breath, looking away.

Aria paused in her work to look at him. She considered berating him for even allowing scum like Rentola and the two gang rats to nag at his conscience. She found herself averting her eyes however when she considered just what it meant when he'd let people like them dwell on his mind when her own approach had been rejected so forcefully, and ever since then he'd flinched and been reluctant with even the slightest contact.

But, she considered, he had laughed and smiled the previous night, and despite their closeness earlier on, he hadn't reacted so badly. Perhaps there really was hope for him.

She just had to do something about that selfless streak.

She went back to flicking through faces, her irritation rising. Shinji looked up as he heard her hiss slightly through her teeth. She swore loudly and tossed the pad down onto the nearby desk with disgust, shattering it on impact.

"What's wrong?"

"Not a single one. How can there not be a single one with his skill on the whole station; seven million fucking people and not _one_."

Shinji frowned, "I don't understand. What is it you're so interested in doing with the EVA?"

Aria sighed and turned to look out the large window that covered most of the wall, "I need to get more information on it."

"Well I can tell you certain things. Why do you need to look into the EVA itself?" he asked, momentarily worried that she might be considering looking into a way of getting Unit-01 to reactivate, and he could spend days telling her why that would be a bad idea.

Aria rubbed her brow, "It turns out certain parties are getting annoyingly impatient. And also, there is…something I'd like to know."

"What is it?"

"There was a person in the EVA. At least, I think it was a person. She was fading and almost gone when I talked to her." Aria glanced at Shinji through his reflection, "You know who that was, don't you?"

Shinji could tell that it wasn't meant as a question. His gaze fell and he nodded, "Yes…"

All Aria needed to see was that reaction to confirm her other suspicion, "It was your mother, wasn't it?"

He nodded once more solemnly, "Yes."

Aria's eyes narrowed in thought, "Tell me. What was her name?"

"Her name was Yui Ikari, and she was a very good person. But yes, she's gone now…"

Aria nodded. She felt like she owed it to the spectre to at least learn the name that she had herself forgotten, "She mentioned something about the EVA's core, something about turning it into a data store."

"A quantum storage medium…" muttered Shinji quietly.

Aria blinked and turned about, "Yes. Did she tell you about it?"

Shinji's brow knitted together. He shook his head after a pause, "No. She told me a lot of things over the years, but not that, and yet somehow I still know about it."

Aria regarded him in thought, "Yeah, well she said it would give perspective, whatever that means. And goddess knows I could use some of that right now."

Shinji shook off his confusion for a second, "But why does it matter? There's no real rush to investigate the EVA."

"As I said: There might be," said Aria, "but don't worry about that now. Leave it all to me."

Shinji nodded and stood up, drifting about the edge of the room curiously. He noticed the walls were quite sparsely covered in terms of ornament, though there was some decoration: Covering most of one wall was a large, expensive-looking painting of a nebula with a space station that he had to assume was Omega floating in it. It took Shinji a moment to notice that the image was in fact moving and seemed to be some kind of 3D construct.

A desk with a terminal occupied the opposite side of the room and some sparsely filled shelves occupied the wall beside him. All that covered them was a few books and obviously expensive ornaments. In fact, despite the glamour that had been put so obviously on display, only two objects really caught his eye. They were set at the end of the shelf and, unlike the rest, which were so perfectly lined up that he could tell they hadn't been budged in years, these were the only things askew and showed any sign of being moved.

One was what appeared to be a fragment of blackened and scorched armour plating.

The other was a simple photograph of a young Asari.

The two objects seemed oddly out of place compared to the rest of the room. The photo's frame was very plain and silver in colour; and the armour fragment didn't seem to have any aesthetic value to it.

He didn't notice that Aria had realised his interest and had paused her reading, regarding him in silence from behind as he picked up the photo, looking down at the face of the Asari.

Aria had known who the woman in the EVA was to Shinji. In turn, somehow Shinji knew just who this young girl was to Aria. Given how oddly impersonal the rest of the lavish decorum was, he realised the two out of place items could mean only one thing.

"This girl…" he finally said, not turning back to face Aria, "Your daughter?"

Aria hesitated, but replied evenly, "…Yes."

He nodded, not looking up from the smiling face in the photo, "…Dead?"

Aria was quiet for a much longer period. And while her hesitation alone gave Shinji the answer, she said it anyway, "She is."

He nodded silently and set the picture carefully back down. His hand then drifted over and rested almost tenderly on the armour segment, "And this: someone else?"

Aria nodded, "That's right…"

He remembered that there had been absolutely nothing on display in the bedroom either besides a portrait of an Asari dancer on one wall. Shinji looked up and let his eyes drift slowly about the room and all its glamour.

There was so much _stuff. _

But it may as well have been bare but for those two lonely memories sitting on the edge of a shelf.

They may have been just memories, realised Shinji, but that was all Aria had. He was starting to realise why she spent most of her time down in the club. It was easier to drown one's self in possession than face true emptiness.

Aria watched as Shinji reached into his coat pocket and withdrew his S-DAT. He wrapped it up and gently nudged aside the next ornament, setting it down there next to Aria's other memories.

"What are you doing?"

Shinji stood back and slipped his hands back into his pockets, "Just…looked a little bare. Keep that safe for me, will you?"

He sighed and turned about, trying to change the mood that had descended, "So then, is there nobody else you can think of who can help with the EVA?"

Aria looked at him quietly for a moment, but then quickly shook the spell off and charged her mind to the task.

Shinji watched as her eyes widened in realization, only to clench them shut in frustration, "Damn it," she grumbled, "can't fucking believe I'm actually considering this."

Shinji stepped forward, "What is it? Do you have an idea?"

Aria just nodded silently and then walked toward the door, grabbing Shinji's arm and pulling him along with her, "Come with me…"

She paused by the elevator and glanced at him, "you still armed?"

Shinji looked startled by the query but nodded.

The asari quickly pulled up the security readout.

UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS ATTEMPTS SINCE LAST INTERFACE: 0

"Good… make sure it stays that way."

-Ω-

Shinji sated his hunger by indulging in a breakfast consisting of what he'd been informed was some kind of grilled Thessian fish whose taste he found fascinating but not entirely unpleasant.

He had been assured that the meal was a perfectly healthy and balanced thing for a human to eat and that, unlike Aria's serving, it didn't have a small quantity of Eezo added for the benefit of biotics.

The staff eating area was sparsely occupied. The only others in the room were two Turian guards discussing something over a light meal, and a single Asari curled up asleep on one of the lavish couches that circled the room.

Shinji noted that the whole club had a quiet atmosphere to it, as if it were somehow still asleep itself.

However, despite the calm ambience and lack of people, Shinji couldn't help but notice that Aria was visibly on edge. He had observed her during breakfast. She had been almost methodically aggressive and quick in the way she ate, almost as if she were on guard and had no time whatsoever for the sustenance.

"I'm surprised you have iced coffee in space," said Shinji, who had been searching for something to say and was glad for the familiar taste and the rejuvenating effects of the caffeine. He swallowed a mouthful and set the container down in front of him, "Are you feeling alright this morning?"

Aria grunted slightly, "Please, we barely got through one bottle of rum between us. I was well outside of hangover territory." At that she quickly wiped down her mouth, tossed her napkin on the table and pushed herself to her feet.

"What's wrong, Aria?" Asked Shinji quietly, looking up as the Asari stood.

Aria seemed mildly startled by the query. She looked down at him as he stared calmly up at her. She frowned and looked quickly back up, "Nothing, it's…probably nothing. Look, I need to go and take care of something," she quickly entered a command on her Omnitool, sending a brief message out.

"Want me to stay here?"

Aria nodded, "Its best you do. I-"

"I can look after him while you're gone," cut in a familiar voice.

Aria turned about to the source of the sound and scowled. Standing by the doorway was Matriarch Aethyta, her hands clasped in front of her and a calm smile on her face.

"It'll give us a chance to have a personal chat," her smile widened as Aria's eyes narrowed, "Just personal, no business I assure you. And I'm not exactly helpless myself."

Shinji looked between the two Asari. While he didn't find the matriarch frightening, he was extremely wary of someone with her level of insight.

Aria's teeth gritted slightly in her mouth, "_Fine…_" she grumbled, just as the door slid open behind the matriarch and the person Aria had summoned on her Omnitool entered, "but just to make sure," she said, turning to look at the newcomer and inclining her head as she looked her over, "I see you've dressed for the occasion."

"Yes, Aria," said the Asari who had just entered behind the matriarch.

Shinji's brow furrowed as he tried to place her face. It hit him with an embarrassed flush as he realised she was the Asari dancer who he'd met the night before, the one who had talked to him and he, albeit dimly, remembered getting a dance from at some point later that night.

He could still feel the ghost of the sensation of her in his lap, and the way she hugged up against him afterward.

Shinji gulped audibly at the memory, and he flushed redder as he realised she'd swapped what little attire she was wearing the previous night for some tight fitting commando-leathers that somehow managed to accentuate her form even more than the skimpy attire had, "Good morning, Shinji. Did you…" She paused, smiling slightly and glancing between the pair, "…_sleep _well?"

Shinji tried to respond, but he'd momentarily lost motor control of his mouth and his vocal chords seemed to have lost functionality.

"Tisala, you see that human?" asked Aria, nodding at the human sat not two feet away and bringing the Asari dancer back to attention. Shinji suddenly noticed the abrupt shift in the dancer's personality, like she flicked a switch and gone from entertainer to soldier in the space of a second.

Regardless of how rhetorical the question seemed, Tisala nodded firmly and responded in a level tone, "Yes, Aria."

"Good. Not a hair harmed. Understood?"

"Perfectly," she responded, eyes straight ahead and back straight.

"Excellent," said Aria, walking for the doors, "If anyone tries anything, paint the wall with whatever colour their blood happens to be." She cocked her head sideways at the matriarch as she passed, "and then do the same to her."

Aethyta just chuckled at the remark as Aria left.

The matriarch sighed and sank down next to Shinji, "For someone who likes to cut loose as much as her, she really is far too uptight. Don't you think, Tisala?"

She smiled weakly in response, "I really wouldn't like to comment, ma'am."

Shinji looked at the younger Asari who, now that he could see her in better light, he realised had a much richer shade of skin than other asari he'd met to the point that it bordered on a vibrant, royal blue, "I…thought you were a dancer."

Her expression softened as she turned her attention to him, but her guarded posture didn't, "Like quite a few of the other girls, I have extensive commando training on top of my…usual job. "

The matriarch smiled grimly, "Nobody tries to grope an Asari dancer unless they're ready to take a singularity to the face to make up for it."

Shinji glanced at the commando, quickly looking away when she caught his eye, "Is something wrong?" she asked, tilting her head curiously.

"N-no, it's nothing…" he murmured almost guiltily.

"Aww, he's just shy," chuckled the matriarch, patting him on the back and earning a disgruntled scowl.

"I enjoyed dancing for you last night," said Tisala suddenly, "Did you have fun?"

"Y-yes," he muttered, still not meeting her eye, "I just don't normally do that sort of thing…It's not how I was brought up. N-no offence."

Tisala nodded, "None taken. I understand people can come from very reserved backgrounds. But there's no harm in admitting you enjoy some companionship, especially when the feeling is mutual." Shinji just nodded sheepishly in reply.

"So unlike the one who's taken an interest in you," sighed the matriarch, "but then I suppose that's _why_ Aria has taken such a fondness for you."

Shinji blinked and looked at her, "What do you mean?"

The elder asari smiled pityingly, "If Aria wanted someone who's just like her on the surface: a criminal, hardened and aggressive, then she could just throw a stone and hit a hundred of them on Omega. Doesn't that strike you as odd?"

"A little, I guess…"

"It's because Aria isn't interested in people like that." She looked away, "She admires nobility and honesty in those she lets close; someone who won't stick a knife in her side as soon as her guard is dropped. Can you see the problem in that, what the curse of that is for someone like Aria T'Loak?"

Shinji nodded, "I'm guessing people like that are few and far between on Omega, and those who are…"

The matriarch nodded as she saw him catching on, "People like that don't tend to stay around Aria very long. They get captivated by her wildness, her strength and passion, but her world isn't really the environment for people with that kind of morality once the awe wears off. Frustration and trying to vainly force change on her always pushes them away in the end."

"So people really don't try and understand her, after all…"said Shinji quietly in thought.

Aethyta nodded, "What Aria seeks most in another…is acceptance." She paused to sigh wearily, "but I think she's long given up hope that that will ever come round," She turned to look at Shinji, "Tell me: how would you feel, Shinji Ikari, if your heart still yearned, but neither hoped nor expected?"

He shrugged slightly, "I'd be bitter…_angry_…"

The matriarch nodded, "You'd feel like Aria..."

Shinji went quiet in thought, and Aethyta could see now, having talked privately on both sides of the fence, that things were heading in just the direction she wanted.

Shinji pushed himself to his feet, "I'd…like to be alone for a while. I've apparently got a lot of reading to do."

"Have fun…" chimed the matriarch, going back to the beverage in front of her.

-Ω-

Shinji had walked half the length of the corridor back to the elevator before he realised he wasn't alone.

He stopped, frowning as he glanced back to see Tisala, who had stopped several feet behind, "Umm, I…said I wanted to be alone."

She nodded, "I know."

"So…?"

"So what?"

Shinji frowned, "So…I'd like to be alone."

She nodded again, "I know, so let's go."

The pilot cocked an eyebrow up in confusion, "Alone as in…_by myself._"

"_Oh_, I see," said the Asari, then immediately shook her head, "No."

Shinji scowled slightly. It wasn't that he minded the company of the Asari entertainer, but he really just wanted some solitude for a while, "Why not?"

"Why?" she asked dryly, "Because it's not worth my job and," she stopped to hum as if pretending to think about it, "yes, my _life._"

Shinji let out a defeated sigh, "That bad, huh…"

She shrugged, "You've got to take the good with the bad."

Shinji inclined his head acceptingly and carried on walking, Tisala closing the distance slightly and following on, "So how long have you been here?"

"A few years," she replied as they reached the elevator, "You'll have to open it. Only you and Aria have access." Shinji complied as she went on, "I was on a special assignment on Thessia when the Reapers attacked. The entire squad I'd been assigned to was wiped out in one of the first bombardments.

"I was one of the lucky ones…got to an evac point and got off world just as…just as it _fell._"

"I'm sorry," said Shinji, not really knowing what else one could say when someone was talking about their world burning. It was all he could feel for himself when it happened to him, after all.

She sighed as they boarded the elevator, "It's alright. I've had lots of time and help to start healing after that. There was really nowhere to go afterward. The fleet was all preparing to attack the Reapers at Sol, the _Citadel_ had been moved, for goddess' sake. And so I somehow ended up here.

"It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Helped put the place back together after Cerberus and…here I am."

"Didn't your superiors ask after you?" asked Shinji as they began to ascend, "I mean, didn't they send to take you back onto active duty?"

Shinji noted that she'd suddenly gone silent, and almost looked disturbed, like she'd said too much.

He smiled and shook his head, "Don't worry. I'm sorry I asked. I guess some things must still be sensitive."

She did her best to smile as they emerged into Aria's quarters, "It's alright. Let's just say, between you and me, that there were…_reasons_…that I stayed. Compared to my job –my old job- just dancing and making people smile…it's like some kind of dream."

Shinji chuckled as he sank down into the chair behind the desk and, after a fumble, managed to activate the display, "Well don't knock it. After all, who knows when it'll be time to wake up?"

Her smile vanished, and Shinji noted that she was oddly quiet from that point on…

Shinji punched in some commands and brought up a search menu. He stopped with his hands hovering over the display, staring at the indicator blinking as it waited for input.

Just where did one _start_ when learning about a whole new world?

There was only one answer. After all, there really was only one subject that had been bugging him for quite some time now.

He stole a guilty glance at the Asari standing by the window and entered the search string. The information was sent to one of the blank datapads on the desk, which lit up with the article in question.

Shinji picked up the pad and leaned back in his chair. He nodded in thought as he read. He got about half-way down the page before his brow creased into a frown.

'What in the heck is _parthenogenesis_?'

Suddenly, something clicked in his head, 'Oh, parthenogenesis,' his brain suddenly fed back, convincing itself that the only reason it hadn't known the word was because he simply hadn't processed it properly the first time, 'asexual reproduction involving development of an embryo from an unfertilised ova. How did I forget that?'

Now, what Shinji Ikari _should_ have been wondering, was how he'd _remembered _that.'

-Ω-

Aria entered the darkened communications room and strode over to the display when a voice spoke up from behind her, "I was wondering when you'd turn up…"

She swung about, her hand glowing reflexively with restrained biotic power, only to find Garrus casually propped up against a console in the shadows, "What the hell are you still doing here?"

He pushed off and strode back into the light, "I'm hurt, Aria. You almost sound as if you don't want me around."

"Really? If that's how I _almost_ sound, then perhaps you need me to clarify. Garrus Vakarian: I do _not_ want you around. Kindly get the fuck off my station."

The Turian shrugged, "I thought I'd wait and tell you regardless, since I figured you'd drop back here to talk to the council sooner or later."

Aria ignored his presumptuousness, "Tell me what?"

Garrus sighed and slowly began pacing as he spoke, "As you know, the council asked me here to look in on the whole EVA situation. They didn't know about Shinji, so I filled them in on that too."

"And what did you tell them?" asked Aria, not liking where this was going.

"I told them the truth. I told them Shinji was harmless: just an out of place human who's a bit of an oddity. They accepted that much, but that wasn't what they really wanted to know. They only wanted an answer to one question: Is the EVA dangerous?"

Aria glowered at him, "What did you tell them, Garrus?"

His reply was almost weary, "I told them the truth, Aria."

"And what exactly is 'the truth'?"

"That I didn't know…"

Aria rounded on him, grasping him by the front of the armour, "I thought I told you-"

Garrus looked unthreatened, and scowled right back, cutting her off "-and I do not work for you, Aria. I am not some hired muscle. If there is something out there that I feel will jeopardize lives or the peace of a galaxy that has just came out of the worst war in its history, then I will address it. Be it as archangel or Garrus Vakarian. I could not simply say the EVA was harmless on the off chance that it may very well not be."

Aria simmered with anger for a moment then released him with a non-too gentle shove, turning away from the Turian so she wasn't tempted to punch his face in, "What did they say then?"

"Well if they were anxious about it before, then it's even worse now. And yes, I suppose that's my fault. They're demanding definitive answers. I feel it best to warn you, the Turian councillor strongly implied to me that _certain measures_ have already been enacted. Don't ask me what those measures are."

Aria's eyes narrowed, "I know what they are. And never you mind about it."

"So what are you going to do, Aria? You have to give the council some kind of response."

She shook her head, "I know, but I'm currently…lacking in resources. The council made an offer. I was going to offer some terms for its acceptance."

"Ahh, that offer. Yes, the council told me about that."

Aria frowned, "So? What about it?"

Garrus folded his hands gingerly together, "Well, you _see…_"

Before Garrus could finish, Aria's Omnitool brought up an urgent alert, a female voice coming loudly over the emergency comm. channel, "Aria, we've got a situation!"

"What is it?"

"There's an Alliance ship on sensors! It just emerged from the relay and is on a direct course for the station!"

Aria's head whipped round to Garrus, "Vakarian!"

The Turian raised his hands quickly in defence, "Come on, Aria, you were just about to call the council to ask for them to send help anyway. I just…took the initiative by extending the invitation last night."

Aria looked about ready to try and separate the turian's head from his shoulders, "Yes, I _was_ going to call them –on _my terms_. Fuck!" she snapped, spinning quickly about and leaving the comm room with Garrus trailing behind.

Aria kept the channel open as she moved, "Tell that ship to keep its distance. Arm outer defence cannons, and if they refuse to take the fucking hint, blast them out of space before they get within ten thousand meters!"

"Aria!" snapped Garrus.

The Asari spun about, absolutely seething with rage, "Do not fucking test me, Garrus! I will not just allow an Alliance military force to waltz on board my station!"

Garrus rolled his eyes and followed Aria as she entered the control tower.

-Ω-

The pair strode into the main control room. The central monitor was currently dominated by the image of the SSV Normandy SR-2. The ship was coming no closer but seemed to sway ever so slightly side-to-side, as if its pilot were toying impatiently with the thruster controls.

"What's happening?" demanded Aria, approaching the somewhat despairing Asari comm officer, who was currently in the midst of a very one-sided conversation with the ship on the scanner.

"-I mean you must know how it is, babe: How would you feel if your boss suddenly orders you to turn about and fly your ass half-way across space to 'render all assistance required'-and just what the hell is that supposed to mean, anyway? – and right into the Terminus systems on top of that! And why? Just what the hell are we doing here? Is it supposed to be out the goodness of our hearts?"

The Asari sighed, "I…I don't know, sir. If you'd just-"

"-and what happens? A crazy space pirate points a bunch of big-ass guns at us. You know, I told them this would happen, but did they listen to Joker? Do they _ever_ listen to Joker? The answer is no, babe."

"I _understand, _sir-"

"-is Garrus there? Tell him I'd kick his turian ass if it wouldn't break every bone in my leg. I swear-"

"_-_will you _please_ stop talking, sir!" pleaded the officer, "Just stand by until further instructions are given."

The Asari turned about in her seat, taking great pleasure in punching the mute button and letting out a tired groan. "The Alliance vessel has complied with instructions and is holding position. As you can see, they're aware that our defence systems are online. What would you like me to tell them?"

"Just put me on," ordered Aria, eyes locked on the slowly rotating vessel.

Garrus rubbed his brow, "Oh, this is going to be painful…"

The voice suddenly reappeared, "Oh, look, they're letting me talk again. Well isn't that kind. You know-"

"Shut the _fuck up!_" barked Aria.

There was a brief moment of stunned silence.

Very brief.

"Hey, don't tell me to shut up, lady. I'm telling you-"

"-Do you know who this is?"

"_Should I_?"

Aria glared at the communications indicator, "My name is Aria T'Loak."

There was another moment of silence, "Never heard of you."

Aria slammed her fist into the comm unit, teeth clenched, "Are you fucking with me, human?"

"Are you fucking with _me_?" retorted the voice.

Aria blinked.

She really hadn't expected that.

Garrus sighed, "May I cut in? Trust me, Aria, you'll be a matriarch before you talk him down."

"Oh, _Garrus,_" chimed in the voice, the tone laced with sarcasm, "it was _so_ nice of you to invite us over, buddy. Loving the welcome so far. Totally not pissed at you for dropping us in it. Like, not at all."

Garrus massaged the pressure point on his head to halt a rapidly oncoming headache, "I'm sorry, Joker, all right? Aria here is just a little nervous considering your ship used to belong to Cerberus and that she's had a little trouble with humans in the past. It's…probably also not great that I didn't tell her you were coming."

"You _what?_"

"Joker!" snapped Garrus, "The fact is that Aria won't let you dock. So I'm going to suggest a compromise: A simple shore party, say…six people at most?" he asked, looking to Aria for confirmation.

The Asari stood with her arms folded, glowering at the image of the Normandy. Her gaze flicked to Garrus, "_Three_. Any more and I'll gun them down myself. I'm only inviting them to get the council off my ass."

Garrus rolled his eyes, "You heard the lady, Joker. No more than three."

"If you say so. What are you needing? We weren't exactly prepped for rescue operations or specialist investigations. We were only out on routine patrol."

"Well, Aria?" prompted Garrus.

She thought on it before replying, "Just whoever you have that's got skill at analysis and extraction of data. We have a very…unconventional object that may have information stored in it."

There was silence for a moment on the other end of the link. "I think we have just the pair," replied Joker, "we'll dispatch a shuttle ASAP. Have the welcome mat ready, Normandy out."

Aria's knuckles could be heard cracking as she clenched her fists at her sides, trying to relieve the tension that had suddenly built up within her.

"Where is Shinji, if you don't mind my asking?" Asked Garrus as he followed Aria back outside.

"Back at Afterlife. I thought I was going to be talking to the council, and I knew there was a chance they might ask him a question directly. I didn't want him there in case he accidentally said something that could make this situation any more fucked up than it already is."

"Say something? Like what?"

She looked icily at him, "Anything. You simply said 'didn't know' and it caused _this_. Fuck knows what would've happened if they gleaned any information out of him that they didn't find…palatable."

"What sort of thing _could_ he say?" Garrus stopped to regard her, "Do you know more about this than you're letting on, Aria?"

"I always know more than I'm letting on…"

-Ω-

Tisala tensed slightly as the door to the suite opened, relaxing immediately as Aria strode in.

The first thing Aria noticed was the dozens of pads strewn about her desk as Shinji focused intently on the one in his hand. So far he hadn't even registered her presence.

"What's been happening?" asked Aria, frowning curiously at Shinji.

Tisala shook her head, "I don't know, Aria. He's just been pulling out more and more data and pouring over it. He hasn't said a word since he started. I didn't want to disturb him."

Aria narrowed her eyes and crossed over to the desk. She looked at the mess of haphazardly laid out displays. Many contained what appeared to be complex graphical representations of genetic information, and some seemed to be historical texts.

"Shinji?" asked Aria carefully, "What are you-"

"-Was your species genetically engineered?" he suddenly asked, not looking up and grabbing a different pad, glancing between them.

"What did you say?" asked Aria, suddenly looking guarded.

He looked up at her inquisitively, "I asked if your species was engineered in some way by an outside force."

Aria's tone was quiet when she replied, "How do you know about that? The Asari government still hasn't made the Prothean-"

Shinji just carried on talking as if he hadn't heard her, "-because I can't for the life of me figure out this gaping hole in your race's evolutionary development. When you look at the traits your race has developed and compare them alongside Thessia's environmental conditions, even taking into account every major catastrophe and climate shift in the past hundred thousand years," he paused again to glance at another pad, "I mean, nothing else explains it. I mean, come on: the ability to mate with _any_ race or gender; sharing physical traits that enamour you to nearly every spacefaring culture in the galaxy, not to mention this boggling technological leap your race took several thousand years ago. Unless your people cracked their own genetic code when they were still learning to use sticks as tools then it doesn't make sense. I mean, just look at the lack of recessive genome-"

"_Shinji_!" shouted Aria, cutting him off by slamming a hand down onto the desk, "What the hell are you talking about?"

Shinji shook his head, smiling apologetically, "I'm sorry, Aria. I started reading about your race, and I just started getting confused about how your species evolved the way it did. It just didn't make sense."

"No, what I mean is, how do you know all…_this_?" she asked, extending a hand at the pages of jargon around him. As far as Aria knew, Shinji hadn't even fully completed his own education before joining with the EVA.

Shinji cocked his head, "What are you talking about? I have a first class doctorate in evolutionary biology…and…several…" he trailed off, confusion suddenly creeping into his eyes. The pad in his hand slipped free from his fingers. He followed its descent as it clattered onto the desk by the others.

He suddenly looked at the mess of information around him with fear in his eyes, "What the hell was I doing?"

Aria took a concerned step forwards, "What's happening, Shinji? I saw your memory, remember. It may have only been flashes, but I didn't see…_this_ in there. When did you learn it?"

He shook his head, eyes wide, "I don't know. I never went to college. I've never even opened a book on this stuff in my life. I mean my mother used to be a…" he halted mid-sentence, going suddenly quiet, a suspicion occurring, "my _mother_…"

To Aria's confusion, an annoyed glare seemed to wash over Shinji's face, "What is it?"

"Oh, she…_didn't_," he paused, closing his eyes as if to confirm something, "she did…" he finished, his voice dry.

"Damn it, mom!" he suddenly snapped.

"What?" demanded Aria, leaning forward, "For fuck's sake, tell me!"

"_Well?_ Don't you see what she did?" snapped Shinji, looking back at her, "I never finished school, so she took the liberty to finish my education by _copy and pasting_ her own right into my head!"

The human paused again to groan as he let multiple facts that he had no associated memory of learning come to him, "Oh _great_: One doctorate, three PHD's and a masters in biomechanics…and apparently I now speak German, Spanish, Hebrew and…_Welsh _too, for some bizarre reason…" he glanced off to the side, "_wow_, mom was a nerd…"

"Will you be all right?" asked Aria, intrigued at the development but really needing to get back on track.

Shinji nodded, "Yeah, just a little startled is all. I'll need a while to sift through what's up here, but I'll be fine. Why, what's happened?"

"It's time to go back to the EVA and see what we can make of it."

Shinji stood up and quickly gathered the pads, sorting them into a neat pile, "you've found someone to help?"

Aria tilted her head, "More like help came to us. Assuming they can help at all, but it's the fact we're making the gesture that counts, even if nothing comes of it." Her brow furrowed slightly, "What were you looking into before you went off on all of…_this_," muttered Aria, picking up the pad that had been sitting on the corner of the desk, the one all the others seemed to branch out from."

"Ah! T-that is…" Shinji stammered, but Aria was already reading the opening texts.

A wry smirk pulled at her mouth as she cleared the pad and set it back down.

Shinji rolled his eyes and hoped his cheeks weren't too red "Can we please just go to Unit-01 now?"

Aria inclined her head, and beckoned them to depart with her, "So what was he learning about?" asked Tisala, falling into step alongside them.

"The Asari birds and the bees," replied Aria, Shinji grumbling dejectedly between them.

"Well why didn't he just ask?"

"I have no idea…"

"So, what have you all been up to then?" asked Garrus, who had been waiting in the elevator for them to return.

Shinji boarded the carriage and leaned back against the wall by the Turian, "Well Aria's about to lead us to some people who can help with the EVA, and I'm giving strong consideration toward shooting myself again. How've you been, Garrus?"

"Oh, same as always..."

"You know," said Shinji, "it turns out you were right about one thing."

"And what's that?" asked Garrus.

"I really did need a diagram to figure it out."

"Told you…"

-Ω-

_To be continued…_

[A/N] It's funny how things take shape as you go, and I am so genuinely having fun writing this. And I hope you're getting as much enjoyment out of reading it. Final thoughts, opinions, ideas? Use the box below. I'm also sorry if chapters are kind of elongating, that tends to happen as the tale starts to flesh out, so I hope you'll forgive me that. Regardless, I hope you stick with me and wait for the next instalment. Shouldn't be too long I hope.

See you in Chapter 10: Cycles


	10. Chapter 10: Cycles

[A/N] Still here? Good, I'm glad you're having fun. It's been refreshing to indulge in creative writing having spent so long lately on revision work, and I've no doubt I'll have to revise this chapter a few times over the next couple weeks before it's perfect, but you're not here to listen to me ramble, so let's pick up where things left off…

**Chapter 10: Cycles**

Shinji stood by Aria near the airlock. He glanced carefully at the Asari, noting that she seemed even more tightly wound than usual. Tisala was stood behind him, her pistol drawn and at her side. His eyes then turned to each of the Turian guards lined up behind them, each of them clad in the Talon's colours, weapons readied and trained on the aperture.

"What are you expecting?" asked Shinji, glancing about at the assembled force.

Aria didn't turn her gaze from the airlock, "Most likely nothing, but it doesn't hurt to make our guests feel appropriately welcome."

There was a slight hiss as the pressure was normalised between the docked shuttle and the station, the airlock door unsealing a moment later.

"I'm telling you, as soon as we walk out there we're probably going to be face to face with-" Joker's voice died as the door fully opened, a loud series of mechanical clicks filling the air as half a dozen weapons were suddenly aimed in his direction. He raised his only free hand in submission, the other currently hooked around the arm of the form standing at his side. He let out a tired sigh, "Yeah…called it again. Didn't I call it, EDI?"

The android avatar for the Normandy's AI inclined her head slightly, not seeming bothered by the weapons aimed at them, "Your predictions have not been without some accuracy, Jeff."

The officer slipped his hand free of EDI's arm and took an uneasy step forwards, limping slightly as he raised both of his hands to show he wasn't armed, "Okay, folks. How's about we all just calm down? You invited us, remember?"

Aria had her own gun raised and levelled at the human, the others splitting their aim between the synthetic and the third member of the group: an Asari who was standing calmly behind them, "I do," said Aria, "But you're going to tell me exactly who you are before I consider letting you take another step forward."

Joker's shoulders sagged slightly, "Jeff Moreau, acting XO of the SSV Normandy," not lowering his arms, he cocked his head at the figure by his side, "This here is EDI, "he then briefly indicated the asari behind him, "and that there is Dr Liara T'Soni. You asked for data specialists, and I can guarantee you won't find any better in the whole galaxy."

"Hello, Aria," said Liara cordially, "I see you're as welcoming as always. Though you must've mellowed; normally you shoot first and don't bother to ask questions later."

Aria's eyes narrowed at the other asari, "Liara…" she intoned, and Shinji could've sworn there was a note of grudging respect in her voice.

Suddenly, Aria's eyes flashed, as if something had just occurred to her. Her aim snapped up and orientated clear at EDI's head, "_EDI_?" she echoed, her teeth bared, "The _Artificial Intelligence _EDI?"

EDI inclined her head curly in response, "That is correct. I am an AI."

Aria's grip tightened around her pistol, the guards having taken the hint and trained their weapons on her also, "The Cerberus AI?" her aim then turned on Joker who flinched in momentary pain as he staggered back a step, EDI's arm going to support him without looking, "You brought a _Cerberus AI_ onto my station?"

"You are correct," replied EDI, "I was created by Cerberus, but I made the independent decision some years ago to cease any affiliation with the group. They had, shall we say, morals which _conflicted_ with my own."

Aria returned her aim to the AI, "And I'm supposed to just take your word for that, am I?"

EDI nodded, "I think you will find that, even taking into account your expulsion of Cerberus from Omega, I have caused far more financial damage and disruption to their organisation than you through my electronic espionage alone."

"Like that time you clogged up their servers with all that porn?"

"Yes, Jeff."

"I liked that one."

"Do you need me to vouch for EDI, Aria?" asked Liara, and Shinji noted that, like the AI, the new asari had been oddly undisturbed by the weapons aimed at them.

Aria snarled slightly, "And I'm supposed to take _your_ word instead, am I?"

"For what it is worth," cut in EDI, "this body is merely an interface. My actual processing cores and memory storage centres are on the Normandy. Should you open fire, you will merely destroy this shell. And while such an event may be an inconvenience in terms of my personal relationships, it would not be too hindering in the long run."

"Basically," said Joker, "you pull the trigger and all you do is break EDI's sexy robot body. And really, do you _really_ want to deprive the universe of such a wonderful thing?"

EDI inclined her head, "It would not take too long to have another fashioned, Jeff."

"Aww, but I like this one so much. I've gotten so…familiar with it."

"Your appreciation is as always welcomed, Jeff. I have come to garner an affection for your physical form also."

"You say the sweetest things, EDI."

"If I _might_ interrupt," cut in Aria with a note of incredulity. Her eyes narrowed at the human, "We were talking just earlier on the comm, weren't we?"

Joker's eyes widened a fraction. He suddenly looked quite nervous now that there wasn't several hundred thousand miles of vacuum separating him from the Pirate Queen, "N-no, ma'am," he replied quickly, "that wasn't me. That was my…my twin brother…Crazy Steve."

Aria regarded him in silence

"You buying that at all?"

She shook her head, "because I don't want this situation getting any more complicated than it is, I'll forgo putting a bullet in you, but I suggest you don't open your mouth from now on."

"Hey, consider these lips zipped, ma'am."

Aria glared witheringly at Joker before returning her gaze to EDI, who had half-positioned herself between Aria and the Alliance pilot, "And as for you, you will stay by my side at all times whilst on board. And if I even get a _hint_ that you're attempting to access this station's systems without my permission, then I'll terminate your..._interface_. "

"Your warning is noted and analogy understood."

"Are we quite finished with this?" asked Liara almost tiredly, nodding at the assembled troops.

Aria tilted her head at the lead Talon, who nodded and dismissed himself along with his soldiers. Both Aria and Tisala put away their weapons and returned their attention back to the trio, "Come with me…"

-Ω-

Aria led the way through Omega's streets, Tisala following behind the three visitors to make sure none tried to slip off.

Shinji turned his attention to EDI out of scientific curiosity (now that he had some). He watched the way she moved for a moment. It was obvious that the one called Joker wasn't in the best of health by the way he fought to walk by himself, but it appeared that EDI took nearly the entire weight off his legs with the arm about his, allowing him to walk almost normally, the AI herself not needing to miss a single step to compensate for the assistance she was giving, having matched his pace with absolute flawlessness.

"Matriarch Aethyta is on board," said Aria as they walked, Liara almost by her side, "though I suspect you already knew that."

Liara inclined her head in acknowledgement, "Yes, I am aware of that. I should…probably visit her at some point. Assuming you will let me, of course."

Aria's gaze narrowed, "It's not you I'm worried about. Do whatever you like. Why are you here anyway? The AI can probably handle all the accessing by itself."

"_She_ probably could," Liara replied, correcting Aria on the personal pronoun, "however, I thought you may want someone capable of _disseminating_ the correct information to the right ears."

Aria humphed slightly, "I see your point."

"I thought you might."

Shinji was listening to their conversation, and though Liara was making it seem her attention was focused on Aria, he could tell that she kept her gaze affixed on him out of her peripheral at all times. He was starting to feel uncomfortable.

"Aria, may I have a word?" asked Shinji suddenly.

Aria paused and looked back, frowning slightly, "What is it?"

Shinji cocked his head mutely in the direction of the other side of the street. Aria briefly turned to Liara, "excuse me."

"Of course," she replied politely, turning to Joker and EDI to talk as Aria broke away. She left Tisala to watch over them, but still kept a beady eye on the trio. She rested a hand on Shinji's back as she approached, orientating him mutely away from the three.

"What is it?" she murmured, keeping her head tilted enough away to prevent Liara or EDI from reading her lips but not enough so that she couldn't keep her eye on them.

"That other Asari…" said Shinji, his voice just as quiet.

"Liara," confirmed Aria, "What about her?"

Shinji glanced quickly over and back, confirming that although Liara was talking to her companions, she was still keeping an eye on him too.

"I'm not sure _what_ it is. I mean, she seems kind of nice and unassuming…sort of…but there's just _something_…" he trailed off in thought, looking quickly over and back again, "the way she looks at me. I know looks, and I know people. And I know when someone's trying to read me. She…reminds me of the way Aethyta looked at me before we started talking. What I wanted to ask was if there was something I should know about her too."

To Shinji's surprise, just as Aria's eyes narrowed at him, a small smile graced the edge of her mouth, "Very good."

"What?"

"I said that I'm impressed. I hadn't had the chance to warn you since they arrived, but I did notice you'd been even quieter than normal, and you did well not to say anything.

"That, over there, is Liara T'Soni, better known in our circles as the Shadow Broker. And she has, as you humans say, her fingers in a lot of pies. Good to notice that about Aethyta too; Liara happens to be her daughter."

"And now both are on Omega... A coincidence?" murmured Shinji.

"Highly doubtful. And do not let Liara's attitude fool you. She may seem all polite and proper, and I've no doubt she sees herself that way too, but I will tell you this now: she is as sharp as an Omniblade and just as capable of stabbing you if handled wrongly."

A small smile graced Shinji's face, "Sounds like you, sans the polite and proper part, of course…"

Aria cocked her head, "A compliment and an insult in one. It's lucky I like you so much, else I'd be tempted to kiss you and then kill you for that remark."

Shinji blinked, "w-what?"

"Let's get back," said Aria, ending the conversation and walking back to the others.

"Have you finished discussing Doctor T'Soni?" asked EDI curiously.

Aria glanced irritably at the AI, "Okay, should have seen that coming…"

Liara fell into step once more, "Don't worry about it, Aria. However, the fact that you would simply reveal my _main job_ to your friend has told me far more about your relationship than if I had queried you directly. For that you have my gratitude."

Aria scowled, "And I thought your father was good at getting under my skin."

Shinji suddenly felt irritated. He was getting tired of people observing and trying to interpret him; he'd had enough of that back at NERV, "So…" he began, not really making any effort to keep his voice down, "what exactly _is_ a Shadow Broker, Liara? It sounds to me like the sort of job you wouldn't have much freedom in, especially if it became public knowledge."

Liara was quiet for a moment as she dwelled on the obvious threat, her gaze darkening for a split second, but the expression quickly turned to confusion, "I am still not an expert at dealing with humans and their customs, but…I have offended you somehow, I believe."

"Don't worry about it. I've just spent far too much time around people who liked to talk as if I wasn't there. Besides, I'm sure doing that is probably some kind of asari custom around strangers."

"It is not," objected Liara, "It is considered extremely bad manners, and I…now see that I have indeed been discourteous. I apologise. I do not, as you humans like to say, get out very much."

Shinji wondered how someone with influence like Liara's could become so self-conscious so easily. He shook his head and walked on, Aria taking the cue and continuing also, "Like I said; don't worry about it," muttered the pilot, Liara falling silent behind them.

"Admonishing Liara T'Soni temporarily out of Shadow Broker mode?" murmured Aria under her breath as Shinji walked at her side, "and you knew just what buttons to press too. Now I'm even more impressed."

"Yeah," grumbled Shinji, "my father would've been too, I'm sure…"

The asari realised then that Shinji really had learned people far better than he may have known himself. Even if it had been out of momentary anger, he'd just used what Aria had said about how Liara probably felt about herself being proper in order to emotionally disrupt her intelligence gathering capabilities.

Aria's eyes focused on Shinji out of her peripheral, watching as he walked with a slight scowl on his face. She may have just discovered a talent in him very worthy of encouraging…

-Ω-

Shinji noted that Aria had posted a lot of security around the storage area where the EVA was currently being kept. The main door from the streets had two heavily armed Krogan posted, and a few feet in front of them stood a large mech, it's pilot visible behind the hood as he gazed out across the walkway.

The Third Child gave the machine a wide berth as they entered, "What was that thing?" he asked, glancing back as they walked.

"An Atlas," replied Aria offhandedly, "One of the many parting gifts left behind by Cerberus."

Several layers of security later and they finally reached the main door into the secure storage bay.

"It's just through here," Aria informed, unsealing the door with her Omnitool.

Shinji took a slight involuntary breath as the EVA was revealed. The way it was suspended from the gantries was startlingly reminiscent of the cage back in NERV headquarters.

Aria was watching him and noticed the reaction, "Is something wrong?"

Shinji shook his head, "No, it's…just been a while since I've seen it from the outside."

The pair entered the bay along the walkway, the trio behind them entering just behind.

"Whoa-hoa," exclaimed Joker, "That is so cool. I mean, yeah, absolutely terrifying and freaky, but still, very much cool.

"Man, they weren't kidding when they said it was big. That thing must be well over a hundred feet tall." He glanced down over the side of the gantry, "Yeah, gotta at least be the size of a Reaper."

"The scale is indeed comparable," said EDI as they followed over to where Shinji and Aria had halted in front of the head, the AI already initiating several intensive scans with her Omnitool. Liara's gaze was torn between her own device and the beastly construct itself. Shadow Broker or not, the sight of the Evangelion had shaken her somewhat.

"So how does it work?" asked Joker as they all came to a halt.

"It doesn't," replied Shinji, his eyes locked on the EVA's core just below. Aria, observing his focus, punched the control to lower the gantry down.

EDI gripped Joker to steady him as the walkway jerked and descended slightly, "You mean it's broken?"

"No," replied Shinji as they halted before the dulled red core of the EVA. He looked at it for a quiet moment, as if confirming something, "more like it's…_empty_. The control system, the _mind_ of the EVA, is gone. There's nothing for the pilot to synchronise with any more. The heart of the pilot and the soul resident within resonate together to create an AT field."

"An AT field?" asked EDI, glancing at the former pilot.

He shook his head, "It's not important right now."

EDI's gaze narrowed at him slightly, but returned to her Omnitool, "Regardless, I am not detecting any quantum field operating within the core."

"Of course not," replied Shinji, "It's dormant at the moment."

"So how does that all work?" asked Joker, "How do you get a _soul_ inside a machine?"

Shinji kept his eyes on the dull red orb in front of him as he spoke, "it was my mother whose essence used to be in the EVA, but she's gone from it now. It's possible to synch yourself to the EVA to such a degree that you lose your mental ego borderlines and physical presence. That's how I was stored for so long. It's also how my mother first gained entry: attempting to synchronise with it when there's no control system is like being sucked into a vacuum. She was quite literally...absorbed."

"Your mother told me that her 'soul' –if there's really such a thing— had faded because of the passage of time. So why didn't yours if you were kept the same way?" asked Aria.

Shinji's brow knitted in thought, "Something was protecting me. All that time it felt like something was surrounding me, keeping me safe, like there was another layer of protection behind my mother's AT field."

Aria frowned, "you mean there was someone else in there with you?"

He shook his head, "I'm not sure if it was an actual person, but the presence felt so familiar…it actually felt like there were…_two_ of them."

"I'm not actually sure what all this soul stuff means," said Joker, "but am I right in thinking you need a mind to somehow be in this thing for it to work? Like, the machine needs a brain?"

Shinji nodded, "It's sort of like that, yeah."

Joker looked cautiously up at the EVA's head, "good luck finding a volunteer."

Shinji smiled slightly, "I wouldn't worry about that; none of you would be compatible. The EVA needs the AT field of a human to operate."

"Umm, in case you didn't notice: quite a few humans about, kid."

He shook his head, still smiling, "That's not what I mean. You're all human, but you're not _Lilim_. You have minds and souls, but you're not bound together as one colony by an AT field."

"Meaning…what?" asked Joker, not following at all.

Shinji sighed and thought how best to summarise, "Basically, it has to do with an ancient godlike entity and her blood mixing with the primordial waters of earth so that, unlike yours, our human race evolved essentially as one combined entity, separated only into individual people and minds by the AT field of the Lilim. The EVA is a clone of that ancient being and, as technically its children, we are able to synchronise with it.

"The downside of this was that, when the godlike being, Lilith, awakened, she cancelled out all of humanity's AT fields, forcefully combining them back into one gestalt entity, but thankfully I fixed that. It could also never happen again, as there are no AT fields _left _to be affected. And as for Unit-01, well, there is only one Lilim left who is compatible with it."

"You," concluded Aria.

Shinji nodded, "and it's not like I can just synchronise with myself. Even if I were to enter the core, nobody else could pilot it. With my universe and humanity gone, there are no more pilots."

"Wait!" cut in joker, waving his hands, "Jumping right past that big sack of crazy you upended on us about gods and magic fields, are you trying to say that you and this…_EVA_, are from an alternate universe?" asked Joker, who made no effort to hide his disbelief.

Shinji shrugged, "I have no idea. That's what I was hoping to find out from the EVA."

"Which you can't do because the damned thing's essentially dead," said Joker, extending a hand toward the vacant core.

Shinji cocked his head, "I wouldn't say that," he said, his voice distant. Without another word, Shinji raised his right hand up and gently pressed his palm flat against the core.

Everyone but Shinji backed away a step as the core of Unit-01 began to subtly glow, its lustre returning. The gem on the Third Child's right wrist seemed to glow dazzlingly with the same light.

"Energy readings confirmed," said EDI, looking down at her Omnitool, "I am detecting a clearly defined quantum field now active within the core."

"Shinji," said Aria cautiously, "How are you doing this?"

Shinji's brow furrowed into a confused frown, as if he only now realised what he was doing, "I…have no idea," he breathed, not pulling his hand away, "It's as if I just suddenly knew what to do."

"But I thought the core needed a human consciousness inside to be active, and only yours would work," said Aria.

"It needs an AT field," clarified Shinji, his voice quiet as if realising something, "it's an AT field…but it's not mine. In fact the only one whose soul should be this compatible with Unit-01 – a clone of Lilith— would be-" Shinji cut himself off as his eyes went wide in shocked realisation. He thought back to the feeling of that light that surrounded him whilst in the EVA for all those years. He remembered how it felt familiar.

He remembered how it _smelled._

His eyes were drawn to the gem in his wrist. It glowed, but the one on his left didn't. 'Because it's not compatible,' he realised, the added knowledge from his mother rapidly filling in the gaps, 'Unit-01 is a clone of Lilith, not Adam. Oh, god…it's both of them; they're _both_ inside me.'

Horrified, Shinji tore his hand from the core, not noticing the crystalline surface retain its sparkle; the connection remaining even though the gem on his wrist had gone dark again.

He shook his head, "What's wrong," asked Aria, sensing his distress, "Shinji, I need you to talk to me," she said, demand rising in her voice.

Without a word, Shinji just shook his head and turned about and ran from the room, "Wait!" called Aria, quickly running into pursuit, Tisala following, "You three, stay here!" called back the pirate as she departed.

-Ω-

Aria found Shinji outside in the street. He hadn't gotten far and seemed to have stopped at the end of the walkway and was now pacing back and forward, muttering rapidly with fear etched into his features, "-like Kaworu said: they're made of the same material, with no resident soul…of _course_ it would work like that…"

"What is it?" asked Aria, grabbing his arm to halt him. He flinched, going suddenly quiet, "Shinji, for fuck's sake, I need you to talk to me!"

"You need to keep me away from the EVA," he said, his tone deathly serious, "I can feel its presence fading the further I go. So long as I keep my distance, then maybe-"

Aria cut him off, swinging him round by the shoulders to face her, "Don't make me repeat myself, Shinji. What is wrong?"

"Aria, do you know what this is?" demanded Shinji almost angrily, holding up his right wrist to show her.

She scowled, "Of course not."

He looked her right back in the eye, "It's a _core:_ the heart of an Angel. It's also called an S2 engine. And this," he said, nodding at the gem, "is Lilith's core, what remains of it, anyway. The remnants of the fruit of knowledge, all condensed down..." He rubbed his thumb over the other red gem, "and Adam's fruit of life too. A remnant, but I guess that explains why I'm just aging slowly as opposed to living forever."

"But what does that _mean_?" demanded Aria.

Shinji suddenly had a quite haunted look on his face, "it means that the EVA might not be quite as dormant as I had first hoped…"

Aria frowned, "you mean you could make that thing _move_?"

Shinji closed his eyes to think, as if checking something, "No…all I did was resonate with the core. There should be no way I could actually force it to activate."

"There _should_?" echoed Aria.

"I'm almost sure I couldn't do something like that. I think I'm still too human to pull something like that off, but like I said," replied Shinji, "It'd be best to keep me clear, just to make sure…"

Aria regarded him thoughtfully, weighing her options, "So the further away you get, the less you can feel that thing?" she asked, cocking her head in the direction of the storage area.

Shinji nodded in confirmation.

"But we still need access to the core." She inhaled a breath, pausing briefly to think, "Right, I want you to remain in the viewing area above the storage bay. Will that be close enough to just keep it active?"

Shinji frowned, "I don't like it, but I think I should be able to do it."

Aria rested a hand on his shoulder and led him back inside, "Then let's get this over with…"

-Ω-

Shinji lounged against the console, his head resting listlessly against the window as he looked down at the EVA. EDI and Liara were busy attaching numerous sensors and interface equipment to the exposed core, Aria standing watch to observe them. The Third Child was also aware of Tisala standing by the doorway, watching him in silence.

"Hope you don't mind me joining you," Shinji almost flinched at the voice and turned to see Joker enter the observation deck. He limped over to a console and, with a grunt, sat himself down on the edge of it to watch the proceedings below, "They're all rambling on down there about quantum entanglement interfaces, data compilation and interpretation; basically crap that's just shooting right over my head. Aria probably isn't faring much better, but I don't think she wants to let EDI out of her sight again."

Shinji shook his head, "It's no problem," he glanced at Joker as he pushed himself up and hobbled toward one of the chairs, "Do you…need a hand at all?"

"Thanks for asking, but I'm fine," replied Jeff, gently dropping himself into the seat and sighing as he sat back, "There we go."

Shinji turned to look back at the proceedings below, the audio relay barely picking up the conversations going on.

"Okay," said Joker from behind, "so I gotta ask…"

"What?" asked Shinji, turning to look at him.

The officer nodded down below, "Just what _is_ up with you and Aria?"

Shinji blinked, feeling his cheeks reflexively heat up, "W-what? What makes you think anything is… _up?_"

"_What?_" replied Joker incredulously, "you mean despite the fact that you're practically wearing matching outfits? I mean, don't get me wrong: I suppose Aria _is_ kind of hot…hot in a terrifying, crazy, femme-fatale kind of way, but hot nonetheless."

Shinji hoped his cheeks weren't blushing too red. He averted his gaze with a slight pout, "I'm getting really tired of people thinking that we're _together_ like that."

"You mean you're not?"

"_No_, we are not."

"Huh, so you're saying you and she haven't…y'know…_embraced eternity_?"

Shinji swallowed a gulp as a certain event came to mind, "W-well, yeah, we kind of did _that_, but it wasn't what you think…and _yes_, we may have slept in the same bed, and she might have been…_" _He bit off the end of the sentence, sputtering desperately, "_Look_, we're not…_together_!"

Joker cocked an eyebrow up, "Really kind of sounds like you are…"

Shinji fumbled for a retort and, when none came, settled on scowling at the pilot, "Oh yeah, then what about you and EDI then?" he asked, trying to shift the aim of the conversation away from himself.

Jeff shrugged, "What? You mean my sexy robot girlfriend slash primary mode of interstellar travel?"

Shinji's eyebrows rose, suddenly taken aback, "Wow, you are…surprisingly forward about that."

He just smirked slightly in response, "Why wouldn't I be? It's friekin' awesome." He sank down in his seat some more, "Come on then. I've spilled about EDI, so you have to spill about you and the crazy lady in violet down there."

Shinji sighed, "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"No I am not."

-Ω-

Down below, EDI halted in her work, her hands pausing over her Omnitool. She tilted her head to glance back at the control room above, a small smile pulling at her mouth. "What is it?" murmured Aria, not looking up from the panel Liara was also focused on.

"Jeff was concerned about your friend's distressed mental state, so he left to render assistance in his usual way."

"What, you mean by driving people into wanting to blast him out of an airlock?" replied Aria.

EDI inclined her head as she connected up another cable, "That is one interpretation, though murdering Jeff by explosive decompression has never personally occurred to me."

"Shinji does not seem the type to be swayed out of depression by humour," commented Liara, her fingers flicking over her panel with lightning speed.

"Jeff is not utilising humour. He is using the subject of his relationship with me and Shinji's thoughts on Ms T'Loak as a vehicle for distracting him from whatever distressing matters may be weighing upon him."

"Same old Joker…" commented Liara, "I think I've got something here," she said, a line of code blinking up on her display, "Just give me a moment."

There was silence as Liara worked. Aria couldn't help herself from glancing up at the window above and back briefly, "So, what is he saying?"

"You wish to know what our men are saying about us?"

"'_Our men?'_ just what kind of messed up AI are you?"

"I was merely attempting banter. Jeff has informed me that the mere nature of my existence can instil unwanted hostility in others. I was therefore merely attempting to diffuse your quite obvious aggression towards me."

"You're almost acting like Joker yourself in that way, EDI," said Liara with a note of irony.

The AI was quiet for a long moment, "That is a most distressing observation, Liara."

"You have no intention of telling me what he's saying then, do you?" asked Aria dryly.

"Regardless of how it may or may not lower your hostility toward me, I still believe it would be inappropriate to divulge that information." EDI suddenly blinked, as if someone had just switched her attention elsewhere, "Connection confirmed. I have an interface with the system stored within the core."

"A system?" enquired Liara, "you mean it's organised into an OS?"

EDI nodded, "That seems apparent. The particles in the core have been organised and compacted in the same way data would be kept on a backing storage medium."

"That's ingenious," said Liara, "like typing out a message using footprints in sand."

EDI nodded, "The analogy is apt. Thankfully the EVA's on-board computer systems were designed to interface with the core, so it was a simple matter of going in via its Personality Transplant OS by linking it into myself."

"A Personality Transplant OS?" asked Liara.

EDI nodded, "Yes, the EVA links a human mind via the onboard systems to the EVA. I have merely linked myself into it in order to access the information stored within the core. Code compilation is proceeding."

"Do you have something?" came Joker's voice over the loudspeaker from above.

EDI nodded, "I am attempting access into the EVA's core. The amount of data stored is quite impressive, even by modern standards. Besides the core OS there appears to be a large block of data which I may be able to independently access via the interface." EDI's eyes narrowed as data surged through her and back to the Normandy, "Interesting. The OS appears to be built around a three-tiered architecture. Each tier is almost an identical copy of the others, only with slight variations coded into its AI personality subroutines."

Liara stood up, "An AI? You mean there's an AI inside the core?"

"Or something very similar. It would appear the variations in the AIs are almost intended to create conflict. Almost as if-"

"It's called a MAGI," came Shinji's almost quiet voice. They looked over to see him standing on the edge of the gantry, but coming no closer, "I don't believe it. She actually coded a MAGI into the EVA's core. She must've used herself as a template…"

"You are correct," replied EDI suddenly, "I have compiled a small section of the kernel and can confirm that this MAGI is based on the neural print of Doctor Yui Ikari. However, I do not possess enough internal storage within this frame in order to compile the entire system. Transference of an unknown AI into the systems of an Alliance vessel would contravene several regulations and Systems Alliance laws, meaning I am also unable to utilize the Normandy for this task."

"How much space will be needed?" asked Liara.

"Approximately four point eight exabytes for both the core OS and its accompanying data. The large block of data separate from the OS will require several exabytes on top of this also."

"And I guess you'd be against loading a MAGI into Omega's computer system…" said Shinji with a sigh, seeming weary from just keeping the EVA active as long as he had.

"Now there's a fucking understatement, "replied Aria, who then seemed to relent somewhat, "but…I could get some external storage units together. We should be able to accommodate it all."

EDI nodded, "It should be possible to run it on an isolated system."

"What about the large block of data that's separate from the OS, EDI?" asked Liara, "do you think you can access that and see what it is?"

EDI nodded, "I will attempt to isolate part of the data," there was only a split-second's pause, "Done. I have extracted a segment seventeen point four six terabytes in size. The block of data seems itself to be split into almost identical segments of uniform size."

Liara downloaded a small segment and ran it through her decryption algorithms, "Strange. They appear to be little more than images. Each segment seems to comprise of a series of low-resolution image files. The format is very archaic but I should be able to decode and convert them into a modern standard. We should utilise the monitors in the observation room."

-Ω-

Joker shuffled around in his seat as the others entered, "Your data's just coming onto the monitors now, Liara. I'm tellin' you, Shinji, if this just turns out to be your porn stash, I'm going to be both disappointed and delighted at the same time."

"Technically it would be my mother's stash…and that's the most disturbing thought I've had in quite some time. Thanks, Joker."

"No problem."

"Conversion and enhancement complete," announced Liara, "Let's take a look at the first one." She looked up as the screen flickered and a still image was shown.

Shinji looked at the image in silence.

It was the Earth and its moon.

"Well that's anticlimactic," commented Joker, folding his arms, "you know, if you wanted a picture of Earth that bad I could've flown there, took a picture and flown back in the time it took to get this."

"No…" said Shinji, looking carefully at the image, "That's not your Earth…it's _mine,_" he said, stepping forwards. He pointed to the moon, "Does _your_ moon have a giant bloodstain across its surface?"

"Not last time I checked, "replied Joker, "You want to tell us _why_ your moon looks like Godzilla just haemorrhaged over it?"

"It's not important," replied Shinji.

"You know, you say that a lot…" grumbled Joker.

"I say it because it's true. It really doesn't matter anymore."

Aria regarded the image, remembering the memory she saw of Lilith's death at the end of Third Impact, it was indeed the same stain caused by that event, "It matters to you though."

Shinji smiled reluctantly, "and only me…" he looked to Liara, "can we see the next one?"

"Yes, of course," she replied, pressing a control on her Omnitool.

The image shifted, and they were all somewhat startled by the next picture.

It was clearly from the exact same perspective as before. Only this time, the sun, which had been in the background before, was far larger now and dominated the image. Its colour was a dim, almost bloody red.

The image seemed to have been captured just as the scorched cinder that was the Earth broke apart, caving in under the extreme stress as the sun engulfed it.

"The end of the world…the final end," whispered Shinji. He vaguely remembered glancing out at this spectacle during his long slumber, but to see it so clearly was quite a dismal thing to behold.

"EDI? Can you tell, is that really the Earth?" asked Joker, looking from the image of the dead world and up to the AI.

EDI looked carefully at the screen, "comparison of the stars in both images would indicate they are taken from the same location if five billion years of stellar drift were accounted for. I would surmise that this is an image of Sol entering its final stage of life as a Red Giant. It is in line with current scientific theory on the eventual fate of the system."

"Deep," commented Joker, "but can we please look at something less…depressing?"

Liara nodded, "I agree." She looked back at Shinji, "Are you okay?" she asked, her tone a note softer than berfore.

Shinji came back to attention, having been focused on the small crumbling planet. He smiled, "I'm fine, Liara, thanks. Please go on."

She nodded and flicked to the next image, again similar, but the stars in the background looked far more spread out. In the centre of the screen, where once there had been light, now floated a black sphere, "If I were to go by the context of the previous images," said EDI, "I would assume this to be the Black Dwarf remnants of Sol itself, the gaseous clouds you see in the background could assumedly be residue from the burned off stellar material."

"Flick ahead, Liara," sighed Joker, having decided that watching the slow death of his own solar system to be a quite morbid thing.

The next few images were simply of the stars in the background as they spread out even further, increasing in number, only to eventually fade to black.

"That's all of them. Let's see what the next block shows," said Liara, pressing a few controls.

The next few images started with a bright flash, frozen. Then there was stellar matter, which then became the sun, the rest of the material becoming planets.

Abruptly, the next image showed the Earth again, only this one clearly did not have the bloody stain across its moon, "Interesting," said EDI, "the stellar positions in this image would put it at approximately the same time period as the first Earth seen.

"Again, given the context, one may assume the images prior to this one to be representative of the birth of the universe and the formation of the Sol system."

Liara then began flicking ahead through the images. It quickly became apparent that the pattern was repeating.

Joker shrugged, "Now they're just all the same. Only the first Earth looked different because of the moon."

"That is not correct, Jeff," said EDI, "Each of the images showing the Earth have minor variances, indicating various levels of technological development and continental shift."

"All similar, but still individual and different," said Liara, "if these images are genuine, then they could hold priceless scientific data about the eventual future of our own universe."

"Alright," cut in Joker, "Let's just assume it's what it looks like, and each of these 'sets' shows a different universe coming and going. Then we've got to then assume that the EVA took these pictures, right?"

Shinji nodded, finding the knowledge downloaded into his brain from his mother to be oddly useful at that moment, "Yes, I've no doubt my mother modified the EVA enough to capture these over the years. And considering we were outside of reality itself, where the passage of time had little effect, then it could mean simply that the universe ended in a big crunch, folded back on itself and had another big bang, and everything started again, only slightly different.

"And if that isn't what happened, then it could also be that the EVA simply then turned its attention on a new universe when the last one ended. Either way, that would still mean that…" Shinji trailed off as it suddenly struck him.

Shinji was silent, eyes wide as Aria spoke, the asari having remained oddly silent the whole time, "Shinji, your mother said 'one per cycle'. She said that it was that which would give perspective, whatever the hell that means."

He staggered back a step and sank down into one of the chairs, finding it hard to speak suddenly, addressing himself more than anyone else, "One per cycle: she _meant_ each block of images. One block per universe, per _cycle_ of time, but that would still mean…it would mean that she had to have _outlasted _each one to compile the images." Shaking slightly, he looked up at EDI, "How many blocks of data were there? How…_old_ am I?" he asked, a note of fearful desperation in his voice.

EDI suddenly looked concerned herself, "I…could not give a definitive answer. There would be far too many-"

"-EDI," cut in Joker gently, "just give him a ballpark figure. Even something generic would be better than nothing."

She seemed hesitant, but complied, not admitting that her calculations were going to be extremely conservative for what she would later classify as compassionate reasons, "If I were to assume the time period covered in one block of images representative of the birth of the universe up until the end of the Stelliferous Era, and then multiply that number of years by the number of blocks of data within the core, subtracting of course the approximate length of time your own universe would have lived up until the time the first image was recorded…Shinji Ikari, I would have to estimate that, bare-minimum, you have existed in strictly chronological terms for at least one point six eight decillion years."

Joker looked about to comment, but then frowned. He seemed to start counting on his fingers, "Umm, how many-"

"-thirty-three, "cut in Shinji numbly, "It's a one with thirty-three zeros after it. I hate the fact that I know that…"

There was silence for a long moment, none really knowing just _what_ to say to Shinji at that.

It wasn't surprising that Joker chose to break that silence, "You know what I was saying earlier, about the whole age difference between you and you-know-who? Well, I've officially changed my mind: you should totally go for it."

"Thanks, Joker," said Shinji vacantly, "I'll keep that in mind…"

-Ω-

Shinji was back at Aria's suite, Tisala on guard as normal as he looked out over Omega in thought, Aria herself being down below with their _guests, _all too eager to get rid of them.

"Will you be okay?" asked Tisala, for once vacating her usual guard spot to approach the human, gently laying a hand on his arm.

She was startled that he reached back and gave the hand an appreciative squeeze before letting it slip back into his pocket. "I get it," he finally said, his voice calm, "I _get_ that the number of years is meaningless when I was in a place outside of time, but just knowing the sheer _scale_ of it…that it actually has a figure; like there's now a map from my old life to where I am now…it all just seems so…"

"_Real_?" offered the asari, "You forget, I know what it's like to have gone from one life to another…living like it's a dream."

Shinji nodded silently, and there was peace once more. In the dim light, the Third Child couldn't see the conflict on the Tisala's face.

She took a long, calming breath, "Shinji…?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I ask you something? It's…about the EVA."

"What is it?"

"You said that it might not be dormant. Tell me, did you mean that?"

He replied after a pause, "I think it's possible, yes…"

"And that only you can actually make it do anything? Was that true also?"

Shinji nodded again, "That's right, without me it really is useless," he said, not admitting this excluded someone attempting to reverse-engineer the EVA, though it would have to be _genetic_ reverse-engineering in order to get anything fruitful due to its comparatively primitive cybernetics.

Tisala breathed a tired breath and stepped forward, "Shinji…" she began, "despite how little time we've spent together, I've genuinely become quite fond of you. And that's not a lie, nor the sweet-talk I give to the customers downstairs."

Shinji frowned, and turned about, "T-thanks, it's very nice of you to say that. I enjoyed spending time with you too."

Tisala smiled sadly, "That's good to hear. Would you please do me a favour…and take my hand?" she asked, extending her arm out.

Shinji seemed confused, but then smiled for her, and gently gripped her hand.

"I really am sorry…" she whispered, and Shinji felt a tiny stab in his palm, and suddenly a cold chill spread up his arm and across his body.

His eyes went wide in shock at Tisala. He staggered back as the world swam about him. She moved out quickly and caught him safely in her arms as his legs gave way under him, "It's okay…I've got you."

The last thing Shinji saw was the asari's sorrowful eyes before the world finally went dark around him.

Tisala grunted with strain as she stood up and pulled Shinji Ikari over her shoulder, trying to avoid looking at his sleeping features directly. She pulled out a cutting device from her Omnitool and swiftly proceeded to open a large, circular gap in the window.

There was a blast of cold air from Omega as the sheet fell free and Tisala looked down the long slope that led to Afterlife's main entrance. Her eyes were then drawn to the Spectre logo that now freely displayed itself on her Omnitool display.

She fought to steel herself and, holding Shinji tightly against her side, she climbed out of the window and proceeded to make her escape.

As an asari caught between Aria T'Loak, her own morality, and her duty to the council as a Spectre, Tisala found she could only be sure of only one thing:

She was probably going to be dead by the time this was all over.

-Ω-

_To be continued…_

-XA-

[A/N] Yup, and we are done for another instalment. A very long winded way of saying 'this is why Shinji is in this world and there aren't any EVAs or records of NERV', but it really needed to be said. Very rarely is it wise to try a crossover where you try to fit two stories into the same continuity, so I hope you'll forgive the length of this one. Needless to say, now that we're done with explaining the whole 'how we got here's, I'm glad I finally get to start the real fun. And no, Tisala as a Spectre isn't a plot hole, that'll all be explained in due course too. So until then…

I'll see you all in Chapter 11: Citadel


	11. Chapter 11: Citadel

[A/N] and here we are again, friends. This one ended up a few thousand words longer than initially intended, so I hope you've set a bit of time aside for reading, but that's what weekends are for (unless you're reading this later on, in which case never mind) Anyhow, I left things on a bit of a cliff-hanger. (which I promise never to do again) So let's carry right on…

**Chapter 11: Citadel**

Aria breathed a sigh as she entered her suite, "That should take care of them for now. Liara's going to-"the asari halted in her statement when she felt an icy wave of air hit her in the face –not something she normally associated with her quarters.

Her alert gaze swept the room, realising it to be completely empty. She also realised the wind to be due to a gaping hole in the main window. This was allowing the icy current of Omega's air recirculation system to blast inside. She instantly knew something was seriously wrong and, more importantly, just who had come afoul of whatever it was that had occurred.

Moving on instinct, Aria's hand drew her pistol as she backed up defensively against the elevator. She edged around the room toward the bedroom. It had been left open and unlocked, meaning it was unlikely to be currently in use as a defensive position, Aria dashed to the damaged window, her pistol leveled out to the left and then the right, confirming there was nobody in sight.

She regarded the long, empty slope leading down to Afterlife's entrance. "Fuck!" she snapped, bashing her gun down on the edge of the window in frustration and turning back about. Her eyes flicked about the room. There was no sign of Tisala either, nor was there any sign of a struggle.

Aria's shoulders heaved as she began to seethe with rising fury, dark energy swirling about her frame. Abruptly, she clenched her eyes shut and rammed her emotions back down for now; she could use them later when whomever had obviously broken her number one rule got stupid enough move within arm's reach.

Aria clenched her hands into such tightly balled fists that her knuckles turned pale blue, desperately trying not to take out her indignation on everything around her. She strode over to her desk and flipped the terminal round, pulling up a security readout.

There was no record of anybody leaving the room since Shinji's access code had been used to gain entry, and the glass had obviously been cut from the inside.

She brought up her Omnitool and opened a direct link to Talon headquarters, "It's me. Shinji Ikari has been taken, Tisala's nowhere to be seen either. Get any Talons near Afterlife moving, I want all sections between here and the docking ports swept. We're going into lockdown."

"Lockdown, Aria?" enquired the Turian officer on the other side.

"You heard me. I don't want so much as a fucking _rodent_ getting off this station. Full lockdown. Understood?"

"Understood. I'll have the word put out. "

"Good. And if you find whoever did this, shoot the fucker on sight."

"Noted, ma'am. Does…that include Tisala?"

"If you find her with him, and it _was_ her?" she asked, and was quiet again for a brief instant "No. Have her brought to me…If that does turn out to be the case, I'll handle her personally."

Aria took a few more calming breaths, eyeing the room once more. Obviously the evidence pointed to Spectre involvement, but how that could be bewildered her. According to Aethyta, the Spectre had only come on board in the past few days, and Tisala had been working in Afterlife for far longer than that.

Something wasn't adding up, and Aria needed answers. Her first instinct was to run out on the hunt, but she needed some intel first.

-Ω-

By the time Aria reached the lower Afterlife bar, the Talons were already swarming the club, weapons aimed and not allowing any patrons to enter or leave. They were indeed efficient, she'd hand them that.

"What's the meaning of this, Aria?" demanded Liara, who currently had an assault rifle aimed at her face, her father being covered by a Krogan with a shotgun.

"Yeah, thought we were all past this," said Joker, who was being guarded by another Talon.

Aria ignored them for the moment and focused on the bartender, "Shinji's been taken," she observed shock flash over the matriarchs features and the older asari opened her mouth to comment, but Aria wasn't done talking, "and you two are going to show me where you got that intel about a Spectre coming onto my station." Her eyes flicked between the two asari, "Speak."

Aethyta could see that Aria was threatening to snap like a bolt of lightning ready to leap to the nearest metal object. She glanced at her daughter, "Liara?"

The Shadow Broker entered a few commands on her Omnitool, "I did not look too far into the background of the information, as it had come from one of my most reliable sources."

"Okay," said Aria, "and where did your _source_ get the information from?"

Liara's fingers ran over the display with impressive speed as she backtracked through her information records and feeds. "Something is wrong…" she said, "They have been well disguised, but there are several false data trails…"

"Can you find the original source?" asked the matriarch.

"Of course, father. A moment…"

Aria's zero patience was starting to creep into negative figures, "_Well?_"

Liara's brow furrowed. She shook her head, "This cannot be correct. The information was passed between several layers to make it appear accidental that it fell into my source's hands, but it is clear that the original seed…" she paused to shake her head, "…was the matriarchs themselves."

Aethyta scowled, "but why would they...?"

"They did it intentionally," cut in Aria, "they gave Liara the information, knowing she would pass it onto you."

"They knew I'd tell you…" breathed the matriarch.

Aria turned from them, "so it was a lie that a Spectre was dispatched to the station; there was already one here," Her fist tightened around the pistol grip in her hand to the point blood was drawn, "_Tisala..._"

"So, not a dispatch order," said Aethyta, catching on, "but a reactivation order, and Spectre could've hidden it right in plain sight."

Liara nodded, "Nobody would think anything of one of Aria's dancers receiving a personal letter from 'family'."

"So what are you going to do?" asked Jeff, "I mean she probably acted under Spectre authority."

EDI nodded, "Meaning that it was most likely a direct order from the council themselves."

There was silence, all waiting for a response from Aria, who they noticed was standing silently, her expression blank but eyes ablaze.

Suddenly, there was a change in her. Her shoulders relaxed, and she became oddly calm. Then she smiled, and the tension in the air rose dramatically.

She reached for her Omnitool and opened a communications channel, "It's me."

"A-Aria?" came the startled voice of the administrator on the other end, obviously not expecting the call.

"Yes. Tell me, are all shipments paid up?"

"Of course, you know all outbound trades are paid in advance."

Aria cocked her head, "Very good. I want you to send a message to the Citadel public finance authority. I want you to tell them that Omega is suspending all outbound shipments to Citadel space until further notice. Inform them that we will not be issuing refunds at this time either due to…unforeseen circumstances. Tell them that all queries in relation to this matter should be addressed to the Council directly."

"B-but, Aria…"

"Did I break up there? Or did you just not understand me?"

"N-no, ma'am, but are you saying we're to suspend…_all_ trades with Citadel space?"

"No, just the Eezo shipments. Everything else is business as usual."

"_Just_ Eezo shipments?" echoed the administrator incredulously.

"Are you asking me..." breathed Aria down the comm link, her tone terrifyingly calm, "to repeat myself?"

"N-no, ma'am. I'll get the orders sent right away."

"Excellent," she replied, killing the link.

"You can't just suspend Eezo shipments to Citadel space!" snapped Aethyta, losing her calm, "With Thessia's output as it is, you're the primary supplier for most of civilised space. The effects will be devastating."

Aria turned about, still keeping her emotions bottled up, "I can afford it, and it really shouldn't surprise you. After all, I'm just doing what I do to anyone who chooses to fuck with me."

"And what's that?" asked Joker, morbidly curious.

"Choking the life out of them…"

Aria walked to the ramp leading from the bar, "I should thank you, Aethyta for telling me what the other matriarchs fear of me. Now let's see what happens when I make that fear into a reality." She glanced back at the nearest Talon, "Escort them off my station." she paused to look at the matriarch," All of them." She continued walking as she called back, "And find that fucking Vakarian and show his ass the door too!"

They watched in silence as Aria departed, "Interesting…" said Liara thoughtfully, "In my experience it is usually the governments who enact sanctions on the criminals, not the other way around..."

"Anyone else get the feeling that this is going to turn really messy, really quickly?" asked Joker.

"The shit's hit the fan," muttered Aethyta as one of the Talons approached to lead her out, "now we just have to see which side chooses to switch it on."

"Do you need a ride, ma'am?" asked Joker as they were led away.

"Thank you, Mr Moreau," said the matriarch with a sigh, "It would seem that I've outstayed my welcome here."

-Ω-

Aria strode through Omega's streets, heading for the Talon's main HQ when a communication came through on her Omnitool, "What is it?"

"We've locked down all outbound craft like you asked, but there's a problem…"

"Define '_problem_'."

She heard the operator on the other end hesitate nervously, "A single shuttle was already in the process of undocking when the lockdown order was given. It also refused orders to turn about and return to the station."

Aria halted, "Whose shuttle was it?"

"It was just a standard personnel shuttle. It was piloted here a few days ago. All fees were paid and, strangely enough, the pilot then left a few days later on another ship."

"I don't care who _owned_ the fucking thing, I only care about who got on board."

"That's the problem: surveillance was hacked around the docking port and all sensors and cameras went down for a period of five minutes. By then the ship had already undocked. Outboard sensors picked up two life signs on board before it jumped to FTL."

"Were they headed toward the relay?" asked Aria.

"Yes, ma'am, direct course."

Aria's gaze narrowed, "Scramble the Elbrus. I want her ready to launch in fifteen minutes."

"Understood, she'll be ready for pursuit by the time you reach the docking area."

"Oh, we're not going into pursuit. I know where the sneaky bitch is going. I'm merely going to grace them with my presence." She killed the link and turned to head for the main docking area. "Nobody steals from Aria T'Loak…"

-Ω-

Shinji opened an eye to a world of motion. His head swam a thousand times worse than it had when he'd woken up in Aria's room.

There was no pain in his head, just severe disorientation. Confusion flooded his thought processes as he tried to work out where he was and why he was there. What he thought to be a distortion in his vision turned out to be a starfield speeding past. The coloured streams of the mass-free corridor around the vessel added decoration to the view.

'W-What happened?' he thought numbly to himself, 'I was on Omega…I was…talking to someone.'

Suddenly his still confused brain managed to click partially in, 'Tisala…'

He didn't know why she'd done whatever it was she did, but the fact she'd incapacitated him obviously meant that she hadn't expected him to come quietly.

'I've been kidnapped…' he realised, his befuddled mind coming to the conclusion that they were obviously moving through space somewhere.

Fear kicked in, fear of the unknown. Where was he being taken, and why?

Then there was another emotion, swelling up and filling his senses:

Betrayal.

He'd been betrayed. Anger began to simmer up to fill the space the painful feeling had occupied. Shinji had been betrayed by so many in his past, most often by people who thought it was for his own good, or for the 'greater good'.

He opened both his eyes, not moving, nor giving any indication he was conscious. He let his gaze sweep out over his surroundings.

He was lying on a rather comfortable chair in what appeared to be the cockpit of a small ship. A large forward viewing port showed the starfield ahead and there were several other chairs in front of the other consoles. Shinji himself was leaning up against one of the side windows. His coat had been draped over him and one of the cushions had been placed under his head as a makeshift pillow.

He thought about what Misato would do in such a situation. Somehow, the answer came to mind with quite unsettling ease:

Work out what you have, and then make the best of it.

'What do I have?' he thought as he tried to assess his assets and hindrances.

He dared to shuffle slightly, just enough to indicate how much movement he had. His captor hadn't bound his hands, nor had he been bound to the seat. Obviously he'd been regarded as no threat even if he _were_ to become uncooperative.

He could feel a weight missing from his back. His pistol had been removed, an obvious precaution. The same was said for his Omnitool.

'So, all I have to defend myself with are my bare hands…' This should've seemed a daunting thing, but Shinji found his brain feeding back a different reaction, and that was the fact that it was not a smart thing to leave a former EVA pilot with the hand-to-hand combat option still intact. Even his father hadn't been stupid enough to leave his hands unbound after the fight with the thirteenth Angel.

Shinji's eyes were drawn sideways and ahead. His vision seemed to tunnel down toward the asari sitting in the pilot's chair.

Tisala had apparently seen fit to change clothes, having switched out of her former dark green commando leathers and into different set. This ensemble was an ominous jet black with red highlights. The only marking on them was a silver v-shaped logo over the left breast.

His eyes were then drawn past her to the console by her side, where he spied his M-77 and Omnitool.

His options were starting to increase.

He considered talking it out, finding out Tisala's justification, only to realise that he didn't _want_ to talk it out. He didn't want to hear her reasons; he didn't want to know how she might have thought that she was doing the right thing.

No, all Shinji Ikari cared about was the fact that he had been betrayed, and that it hurt.

Shinji Ikari was done being hurt. It was time for him to start hurting _back_.

Tisala was alerted when she heard the quiet ruffling off to the side. She shifted round in her seat to look at the human as he shuffled out from under his coat.

She averted her gaze from him, "you're awake then…"

Despite not looking, Tisala was painfully aware of Shinji's gaze affixing itself in her direction. She rested her palms on her knees and leaned forwards, studying the floor, "I suppose you want an explanation…"

Tisala waited, but silence was her only answer, "How are you feeling?"

There was no response.

Keeping her eyes away from his, she shifted and pushed herself up, "I should…probably get you some water," she said, "I used a sedative that normally doesn't leave you in any kind of pain afterward, but it can make you a little dehydrated."

She turned back with a glass in hand and set it down by him. She stood back. Shinji's eyes flicked to the glass for an instant, but made no move to take it. He just sat, looking at her in silence.

"If I try to explain, will you at least-"

"Stop…" cut in Shinji, his voice like a shard of ice, "…_talking. _I don't know who you really are, or where you're taking me. You stuck a needle in my body, filled me with drugs and abducted me. At least have the decency to stop pretending to give two fucks."

"You don't have to be cruel…" she whispered, turning to sit down.

"_I_…don't have to be cruel?" he asked incredulously, gaping openly.

"I had-"

"-no choice?" cut in Shinji, voice dripping with sardonicism, "Oh, I love that one. The line used by cowards to get to sleep at night, to at least make them feel better by the fact they at least _felt bad _about what they did."

Tisala turned her gaze back forward, "I'm taking you to-"

"-I don't…_care_." Snapped Shinji, cutting her off again, "You're a kidnapper taking me to a jailer, nothing else matters."

"You're not _listening_!" she shouted, "Nobody is going to hurt you!"

"Betrayal, assault and kidnapping; you've already hurt me. All you need to answer are two questions. Question one: Will you turn this ship around?"

Tisala kept her gaze dead ahead, "…No."

"Alright. Question two: will you let me go once we get to wherever we're going?"

"No…"

"Then what is there to discuss?"

Tisala took a shuddering breath to calm herself. She had known it was going to be bad, but it was like Shinji was verbally stabbing her in the heart with a blunt object with each word, "So…you would try to understand Aria, but not me?"

"You're both criminals, but only one of you has earned my respect."

"I am a Spectre!" she hissed, trying to keep her emotions in check, "I did what I did because, _no:_ I _didn't_ have a choice. You need to understand: ever since what we call the Saren Incident occurred, there has been zero tolerance toward a spectre disobeying any direct order from the council! Any spectre that does is immediately marked as rogue and eliminated by the others. So tell me…" she said, her voice thickening as her emotions boiled up, "knowing that if you chose to follow an order which you didn't want to follow would most likely get you killed as a backlash, and that disobeying that order would be a death sentence also…what would you do?"

Despite the fact she was obviously on the verge of breaking down, Shinji wasn't in a very sympathetic mood, "So you kidnapped me out of self-preservation?"

Tisala didn't respond to the question and fell silent for a while. "I thought they'd forgotten about me…Thessia was my first assignment. I thought I'd gotten lucky considering the war was on. I mean, how can you get safer than the homeworld?

"They were so _desperate_ for new candidates due to the numbers lost against the reapers. The candidate selection to approval system was rushed through so fast," she paused to laugh humourlessly, "and doesn't that just make me sound so second-rate…

"My father was a Turian, military man right to the end. He died long before I was selected, of course... 'He'd have been so proud', was all I could say to myself. But then the Reapers came to Thessia, and then I nearly got ripped apart by a Banshee, the rest of the squad I'd been sent to support already in pieces around me. I didn't want this. I was _done_ with my stint as a commando, like all girls do when they're young. Should've quit sooner…should've been slightly less effective at what I did."

The Asari took a calm breath and carried on, "My reactivation order came through the day before we met. Simple job: keep an eye on the EVA, ensure it doesn't become a threat. I was so curious since the moment I first saw you; eyes older than a matriarch and yet still so young…"

"So," said Shinji once he was sure she'd finished, "you took me because of the EVA?"

She nodded, "I informed the council that the further away you are from it, the less it works. They asked me to confirm this, and if so…"

"To remove me. To be honest, I'm shocked you didn't just kill me."

She hissed and looked at him with hurt, enraged eyes. She fought for something to say. She turned back when the words failed to come.

Emotionally torn…distracted…

An opportunity.

Though he didn't show it, and certainly wouldn't admit it, the one thing that angered Shinji most, beyond even the kidnapping, was that she'd dared almost make him sympathize with her.

Shinji's mind calculated his odds. If he were to have any chance of breaking free; of not becoming a thing in a cage, then he had to act. The odds would never be better than now. But he needed to be blank, he needed not to think. He needed to hold his compassion at bay.

Tisala turned back about when she saw Shinji struggle to his feet in the viewing port's reflection, "You shouldn't try and get up. The sedative is still in your system, the sudden change in blood pressure from standing alone could-"she stopped talking as she watched him stagger backwards suddenly, his hand going to brace himself against the rear bulkhead.

The world danced about in the Third Child's eyes. He was partially aware of Tisala being on her feet, approaching him out of concern.

Oh, how she underestimated him, how small and fragile she must have thought him.

Just like Misato.

He angrily shoved the comparison aside with a shake of his head, stabilizing his sight with great concentration. His right hand shot up and shoved Tisala back a few steps, "Target…" he stammered, breathing heavily.

"Shinji…" said Tisala, approaching again, "You should-"

"…_Target_…" he repeated, trying to focus on the words as his eyes lost clarity, "…_in the centre…_"

"Shinji?" she asked, and watched as his eyes changed. Those dark blue pools seemed to both focus and go vacant at the same time, his pupils contracting and focusing in on her like a crosshair. She froze, sub-consciously registering his shifting centre of gravity.

Shinji then spoke again. His voice was low, empty, and cold,"…_pull the switch."_

Tisala was stunned at how quickly Shinji moved in his current state, and could do nothing but gape as he charged into her with a full-body tackle, the force of his shoulder momentarily knocking the wind out of her.

The asari was hurled backwards, her hand reflexively going out and propelling herself off the floor, twirling right back into a guarded crouch, "Shinji, please!" she called, holding a hand out as he advanced on her, "I don't want to hurt you!"

In Shinji's head he was numbly stunned at how his movements felt. This was nothing like his younger body. His legs and arms were longer, stronger. The proportions felt so familiar, and it took an instant for him to remember what it felt like.

It felt like the EVA…like having a 100 per cent synch ratio.

Hesitation vanished.

He could _fight_ like this.

The spectre propelled herself out of the way to dodge the kick aimed square at her head. Shinji's movement carried on however. He grabbed hold of the rear of one of the control seats as he passed, using the chair's rotation to carry him back round and into a kick that struck the asari in her lower back.

He released the chair and landed atop her, knees buried in her chest.

There was a blast of dark energy as Tisala's biotic field hurled the human off her, thrusting herself straight up and into a roundhouse kick that struck the still staggering human and hurled him across the length of the cockpit.

Tisala was on him instantly, his hand twisted up behind his back and her knee digging into the pressure point on the back of his leg.

"Please don't make me hurt you!" she snapped as he tried to force himself upward, "I'm telling you now, there's no way you can beat me. I promise nothing will happen to you if you just _calm down!_"

Tisala felt him strain under her, could see his teeth bared and the way the look in his eyes changed from vacant to almost manic. She could almost feel the tendons in his arm and the back of his leg stretch themselves to tearing point.

"One thing you should know about EVA pilots…" snarled Shinji, bracing his other knee downward, "very high pain threshold!" with a sudden upward thrust that nearly tore his quadriceps right off the bone, Shinji lashed back with his head and struck the asari between the eyes.

The EVA pilot bounced up off one hand and kicked the momentarily stunned spectre away. She was down, but far from out.

Without looking, Tisala lashed up with her leg and kicked him flat in the lower abdomen, sending the Third Child crashing into the pilot's seat.

She was stronger than he was, realised Shinji, much stronger. He watched her outline shimmer as she took the opportunity to put up a biotic barrier about herself.

"That's enough, Shinji…" she said, her voice low and calming as he tried to push himself up from the console.

Shinji's eyes flicked to her, their gazes meeting. Almost at the same time, their eyes were suddenly drawn to the Omnitool and pistol sitting on the stand just off to Shinji's side. Their gazes met again.

Tisala shook her head, "Don't do it, Shinji…"

Shinji moved, and Tisala released the biotic shockwave built up in her right hand. Only, that was where she made her mistake…

The attack struck the butt of the pistol with perfect aim and sent it flying across to the other side of the cockpit. Tisala's _mistake_, however, was to assume that Shinji had been going for the gun in the first place.

Shinji rolled around the side console and leaped back. He ignored the pain in his right leg and staggered to a safer distance from his opponent, his Omnitool grasped firmly in one hand.

Tisala turned about as Shinji squared his shoulders, "Shinji, I've already disabled the transponder and interfaces on that Omnitool, even if it had communications, you wouldn't be able to send a signal until we left the corridor."

She watched as Shinji's eyes flicked to her. Her brow furrowed as he released the catch on the base of the tool. With a flick of his wrist and with grace that Tisala knew could only come from practiced use of such a weapon, she suddenly found herself facing an opponent with an Omniblade in his hand.

He flourished the orange blade up, his other hand braced against his upper arm to solidify his stance.

Yes, her tactical intuition told her, he had done this many times before.

Tisala looked at him, his eyes vacant again but filled with intent. He saw her only as an enemy now, "Please…" she whispered, a full power singularity building in her palm, "Please don't, Shinji..."

Almost in slow motion, she watched Shinji's head lower, his right foot pressing down in the brief instant before he launched himself forwards.

She had no choice.

She released the wave of biotic power, Shinji numbly saw it hurl towards him. He dove forwards into a roll and felt the tug of the attack's gravitational force on his back as it passed over him, the majority of the force dissipating harmlessly about him, as if an invisible force were holding it back.

Indeed, both were far too preoccupied to notice the shimmering, barely perceptible orange distortion in the air between the singularity and Shinji's back as it effortlessly held the biotic force at bay.

The anaesthetic still mulling his senses and dulling his limitations, Shinji sprang up and into Tisala's chest above her centre of gravity, knocking them both to the deck in a tumble of limbs with the human on top.

Tisala grabbed hold of Shinji's lower arms as she found the tip of the knife descending towards her throat, the human's eyes still scarily vacant.

Her elbows pinned to the floor as they were, Tisala had only the strength of her lower arms to hold her opponent off as he forced down with his entire body weight.

The asari let out a whimper as she felt the searing point of the knife press into her flesh and realised there wasn't nearly enough time to gather herself again to use her biotic abilities.

She was about to die. She hadn't expected it to end like this. Killed by Aria or one of her assassins, maybe. Or perhaps a Spectre, should she have chosen to disobey the Council's orders. That much she expected. But not like this…

Not by him…

Realising there was nothing more she could do, resignation flooded through Tisala's spirit along with an odd sort of calm as her conflict evaporated. She swallowed a gulp, the action scraping the hot tip of the knife as she looked deep into his eyes and barely managed to whisper out, "Will you please forgive me first?"

Shinji froze, his hands tensed around the hilt of the knife as he tried to make himself continue. They held that position for a while, locked in a moment of uncertainty.

She'd dented his resolve, but that dent was enough. He clenched his teeth angrily, the force of his thrust dissipating. Tisala made no move to fight back any further. Shinji glared at her for a long, silent moment, their gazes still locked. Slowly, he peeled himself off her, falling back onto his haunches.

Intentionally or not, she had won; he knew now the only way for him to escape the spectre would be to kill her.

She had him captive by his own morals.

Shinji stood back up. Turning away from her, his hand fell limply back to his side. The knife slipped free and fell to the deck with a clatter, "No, I won't be the one to take your life…"

-Ω-

Paradoxically, the crew of the Elbrus felt far more at ease around Aria T'Loak when she was clearly furious than when she appeared to be in a good mood.

"Ma'am?" asked the Turian comm officer, his eyes focused on the rapidly blinking communications indicator.

Aria didn't respond. She kept her gaze locked on the starfield as it passed by outside the viewing port.

Since Aria always let people know when she didn't want them to speak, he took her silence as a cue to continue, "Councillor Tevos is trying to reach you on Tightbeam…_again._ Only this time it's not one of her representatives. She's actually on the line."

Aria turned about and approached the projection system, "Is she now?" she asked, sinking down into a chair in front of it, "Well you'd best put her through then."

The Asari councillor shimmered into existence, turning about to see the pirate queen sat calmly before her, "Aria," she began, an urgent but cautious note in her voice, "Just what are you doing?"

Aria steepled her fingers together in her lap and just regarded the Asari councillor with a neutral expression, her voice entirely business "What seems to be the problem, Tevos?"

"The problem? The _problem_?" she echoed, her usual calm demeanour vanishing for just a brief instant, "Do you have any idea what you've done? This…embargo you've chosen to enact has thrown the markets into chaos! You actually informed the general public on top of it! A sudden Eezo shortage-"

"Eezo shortage?" cut in Aria, "I don't have an Eezo shortage. I've got mountains of the stuff…literally mountains. I think you'll find the Eezo situation in the Terminus systems to be quite stable."

Tevos' hands clenched at her sides. She looked briefly off at something to the side, her voice lowering, "We can discuss this rationally. You have to understand the rationale the other councillors made when they chose to-"

Aria stabbed her finger down on the panel in the arm of her chair, killing the link and cutting off the councillor.

She was silent in thought for a moment. 'Other councilors?', mulled Aria, so there hadn't been full consensus on the abduction, after all. She would have to keep that in mind, "How long until we arrive?" she asked.

The helmsman responded, "A little over an hour, ma'am. Do you want a force from the crew assembled for when we arrive?"

"No," replied Aria, "Just send word to my people on the Citadel. Have them ready to meet me when we get there. A small commando squad will suffice. When we emerge I want you to conceal the Elbrus in one of the nebula clouds. I'll board the Citadel using one of the unmarked shuttles."

"Understood, ma'am, I'll send the instructions ahead immediately."

-Ω-

Shinji hadn't made any further attempt to attack the asari Spectre and so sat in silence, lounging back dejectedly in one of the chairs, his head lolled back against the viewing port, watching the universe fly by. They'd come out of the corridor some time ago and were now cruising through the clouds of the Serpent Nebula.

The choice had been taken out of his hands once more. True, he could've killed Tisala, but then he'd have had the blood of another on his hands, quite literally in this case. Plus, he couldn't help but see things from her perspective. Having always hated piloting EVA but knowing what would've happened to the world if he had chosen not to, Shinji was well versed in the 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' dilemma.

"She'll come for you…you know that, right?" said Shinji suddenly, his gaze narrowing as the ship curved through the nebula and spying a silver point of light in the distance.

Tisala kept her focus on piloting, choosing not to respond to the query, "Am I going to have to keep you restrained as we pass through the Citadel, or are you going to cooperate?"

A mirthless smile pulled at Shinji's mouth, "Are you asking if I'll come quietly or if you'll have to drag me to my jailer in chains?"

Tisala wanted to rebuke, but knew any attempt would be futile, "Will you?"

Shinji's gaze flicked to the asari's back, "Of course, Tisala. I promise to be good." He replied, his tone far too light and Tisala just sighed tiredly in response.

Shinji watched the colossal form of the Citadel come into focus.

His emotions momentarily gave way to awe. To say the station was impressive would be an understatement. The sheer scale of engineering that must've gone into constructing such a structure momentarily staggered him.

His attention was pulled back when he heard Tisala open a comm link. A female voice responded a second later, "This is Citadel control. Please transmit docking credentials."

Tisala manipulated a few controls, "Transmitting docking clearance now."

There was a pause, "Spectre docking clearance confirmed. You have a clear line to bay 36A."

"Confirmed," she replied, switching the shuttle to auto-pilot and letting the Citadel's systems handle the actual docking procedure. She stood up and collected Shinji's sidearm and Omnitool before walking briefly into the rear compartment to collect her own equipment.

Shinji's attention was taken from the gleaming station when he felt Tisala's tight grip on his arm as she pulled him to his feet to bind his hands behind his back, "I'd apologise again, but I don't think you want to hear it…"

-Ω-

Shinji winced as they stepped out onto the docking area, his leg almost giving way underneath him. Tisala hooked her arm quickly around his, steadying him on his feet and taking the weight off the damaged muscle in his right leg, the drug in his system that had been hiding the pain now wearing off.

There were no words exchanged as Tisala led Shinji straight past immigration. He ignored the various stares from the citizens as the spectre escorted him to the Citadel transit stop.

As they cruised over the presidium, Shinji found himself even more awed by the interior of the Citadel than the outside. It was almost the polar opposite of Omega: Both stations were large and impressive, one was bright and open, the other dark and almost oppressive, but only one represented unrestricted freedom despite its appearance; the other was a world of control, rules and politics whose web he'd been forcefully dropped in.

Shinji hated the gleaming heart of Citadel space already.

The automated vehicle landed by the base of the Citadel Tower, "can you please take these off?" grumbled Shinji as Tisala assisted him to his feet, his eyes momentarily drawn to the relay monument nearby, "It's not like I can make a run for it…"

Tisala was still for a second and, without another word, undid the restraints on his hands.

Shinji massaged his wrists as the asari took his arm again, somewhat more tightly than before.

Suddenly, Shinji staggered forward, one hand going round Tisala's back to prevent himself collapsing entirely.

The asari's other hand came round his back, "you alright?"

"F-fine…just really need to get off my feet for a while," he said, Tisala helping him find his balance as she led them onto the elevator up to the council level, "Where are you taking me anyway?"

"To see the council; I'd like to think they might want to explain themselves," she replied, watching as the floor indicator ticked rapidly over.

They emerged a moment later and Tisala paused to frown, looking about, "Something's wrong…" she said, "there should be a representative to meet us," she looked at the numbers mulling about, "it's normally not this busy either."

Shinji wasn't sure why she thought he cared, but he watched as she approached the desk and addressed a very hassled-looking asari, "I'm here to see the council. They're expecting us."

"See the council?" echoed the clerk with an exasperated shake of her head, hurriedly pressing controls on her screen, "You and everyone else. The council has temporarily adjourned due to unforeseen circumstances. Kindly wait until you are called for."

"What circumstances?" asked Tisala with a frown.

The clerk looked up at her, "You mean you haven't heard?"

"That's why I'm asking."

The clerk shook her head again, "The markets are in chaos. Apparently the Terminus Systems have thrown up some kind of trade blackout in the past few hours. They've _then_ gone and pointed their finger at the council for people who want an explanation. And, as you can see, people are wanting explanations."

"Aria…" said Shinji, paying attention now.

"Yeah," sighed the clerk, "people are very upset. So I'm afraid the council isn't taking visitors just now."

"This is spectre business. I think you'll find this takes priority. Where is councillor Tevos?"

The clerk seemed to hesitate, but nodded and checked her screen, "She's currently in her office, but-" Tisala cut her off by turning away and leading Shinji off towards the sealed area, overriding the outer locked door with her Omnitool.

-Ω-

The C-sec officers guarding the councillor's chambers tensed at the sudden entry, but relaxed when they recognised the spectre logo on Tisala's uniform. She didn't wait for admission and unlocked the door to Tevos' office and entered the darkened room.

Tevos looked up from her desk, startled by the entry, but immediately went back to the screen in front of her. There was a red-faced, elderly human male on the display, and Tevos seemed to be in the midst of trying to calm him down, "The council is more than aware of the issues being faced, and believe me: we're working our hardest to resolve the trade dispute with Omega. The setback is only temporary, I assure you."

"The market shift caused by the news alone has cost ExoGeni nearly half a billion credits in loss of share value alone! Will you be reimbursing us that too?"

Tevos sighed, "I assure you, we will do our very best to resolve the situation in a way that I'm sure you will find satisfactory. Thank you for your time, our representatives will keep you informed of any important updates," she said, and Shinji heard the man on the other end draw breath to speak again, only for the councillor to kill the link.

Shinji watched the weariness on the councillor's face vanish behind a mask of calm as she stood up from her desk and approached him, Tisala backing off to stand by the door. The councilor regarded him inquisitively for a moment. "So...you must be Shinji Ikari. I had not expected your arrival so soon. I…imagine you must have many questions."

"Not as many as you'd think," said Shinji, his voice cold, "You seem to be having problems."

Tevos glanced at her terminal and back, "There has been…reaction to our acquisition of you, I will admit. But when dealing with Aria, one should expect the unexpected."

"Your acquisition of me?" echoed Shinji, "Are you talking about my abduction?"

Tevos seemed to deflate slightly, "Yes…" she sighed, "for what it is worth, I voted against the action. I will _not_ say however that I did not also see the logic in their choice."

"I only want to know one thing," said Shinji, "Now that you've got me, what do you want from me?"

Tevos regarded him for a moment, "Nothing."

"Nothing?" echoed Shinji, seeming annoyed by the answer, despite the fact he understood it "So it's less about wanting me, and more about just not letting _Aria_ have me?"

The councillor inclined her head, "When it came to light that the EVA currently in Aria's possession was not completely inactive, we were forced to reclassify it as a very real threat. Aria is, shall we say, a necessary evil, but up until recently her influence has always been within our scope."

"And so, what? I'm just your prisoner?"

"No. You will be free to come and go as you please. Your movements off the Citadel however will be restricted. Until an agreement can be reached with Aria over the Evangelion, we must ensure you remain…separate. So allow me to assure you again: you are not a prisoner, and we will make every effort to make you as comfortable as possible in compensation for this inconvenience. We will also not restrict contact with Aria T'Loak. This is merely an issue of striking balance."

"Striking balance," echoed Shinji with distaste, "with me as a bargaining chip for your use."

"I would not like to put it so coldly. As I said, you are free to contact Aria. In fact, given current circumstances I would encourage it. However, you will not be allowed to leave the citadel in her company."

"You're dodging the fact that you staged an illegal abduction to get me here," Shinji narrowed his eyes at the councillor as something occurred to him. He found himself smiling slightly, "You didn't think this would happen, did you? You genuinely thought swiping me up wouldn't have any kind of backlash."

Tevos turned away, "On the contrary, I fully expected Aria to do something, I have had…_dealings_ with her in the past. The other councillors however, they underestimated the level of reaction that Aria is capable of."

Shinji nodded, "I know you've had dealings with her. Aria's actually mentioned you offhand before."

"Is that so?"

He inclined his head in acknowledgement, "It is if you're the same Tevos who, quote-unquote 'mewls like a kitten when someone nibbles you on the-"

"-Yes, _thank _you," cut in Tevos briskly, clenching her eyes closed.

"Is my mission complete, councillor?" asked Tisala suddenly.

She nodded in response, "Yes, thank you, Tisala. If you'd please return to-"

"No…" cut in Tisala quietly with a sigh, "I'm done."

"What did you say?"

"Now that my duty has been fulfilled, I feel I must take this opportunity to respectfully tender my resignation."

Tevos seemed momentarily stunned, "Tisala. If you are having issues with your status-"

"No issues, ma'am," cut in Tisala gently, "I'm just done...if you'll excuse me."

And with that she turned to leave, but paused to bow once to Shinji, "Goodbye, Shinji… I don't expect I'll have a chance to see you again, so-"

"I forgive you," cut in Shinji with a tired breath, "Or at the very least…I think I understand you now."

She smiled tiredly and departed, leaving Shinji alone with councillor Tevos.

Tevos turned away to look out her office window. She was quiet for a while as she dwelled on what had just happened, "resignation from Spectre? Never in all my centuries have I seen it…"

She glanced at Shinji over her shoulder as he approached and stopped by her side to look out over the presidium below, "She said she never wanted to be one in the first place…you just forced her into a position she never wanted to be in. I suppose she and I have that in common also…"

"I have told you our position, Shinji Ikari. If I may ask…what is your intention?"

Shinji looked down at the Presidium lake below as he replied, "I intend to take you hostage and have you walk me down to the docking bay where you'll let me depart in a ship back to Omega. Then I'll have lunch and probably a light afternoon nap."

Tevos turned her head to look at him in bewilderment, not sure if that was some kind of human attempt at gallows-humour, "Excuse me?"

"Tisala…" said Shinji.

"What about her?"

"She'd obviously lost her edge. I beat her in a fight to the point that I nearly took her life…" Tevos' eyes went wide as she felt something cold press firmly into the sensitive spot in the small of her back. A smile spread slowly across Shinji's face, "and she completely failed to notice that I stole her gun…"

-Ω-

_To be continued…_

[A/N] Ahh, quite a long instalment, but thoroughly enjoyable to write now things are picking up. I'll do my best to get the next little piece out as soon as possible, but like I said, longer chapters as things develop tend to mean bigger gaps, but I'll keep things coming at a decent pace.

I'll catch you all in Chapter 12: Standoff


	12. Chapter 12: Standoff

Version 1.02, minor alterations to some words/grammar/interactions 26/06/2013

[A/N] Hmm, interesting reaction to the last one, I'll try and keep the momentum going for this one too. Word count somehow ended up 5 figures somehow this time, funny that. Anyway, you're not here to listen to my ramblings, you're here for that big block of text under this one, so I'll stop wasting your time and pick things right up from where we left off…

**Chapter 12: Standoff**

Tevos raised her hands slightly to show her submission; no further surprise or fear showing on her face, "If I see so much as a flicker of your biotics…" said Shinji, who emphasised the point by pressing the barrel slightly harder.

Tevos flinched and let out an involuntary gasp as he pressed down with the gun on what was actually a very sensitive spot for asari, "Understood."

Shinji ushered the councillor round and toward her desk, "I hope you understand; this is nothing personal."

Tevos inclined her head, "I take no offense. Though I fail to see how you think taking me as a hostage will benefit your attempt to leave the station. How do you intend to get past immigration with a weapon even with me as your prisoner? The scanners will detect it long before you reach the desk." She was quiet for an instant, "It occurs to me that I probably should not be pointing these things out to you given the sudden shift in our relationship dynamic."

Shinji cocked his head, "Probably not. You can…put your hands down now."

"Thank you," she said, folding her hands together in front of her, "If you don't mind my asking. What do you plan to do now?"

"To be honest, I haven't thought that far ahead. I really hadn't gotten past 'take out gun, point gun at hostage.' I'll work out the rest as I go. I…haven't really done this before…and I probably shouldn't have told you that either."

"I must say, I do believe it wiser to continue with our dialogue rather than resorting to these extremes."

"Will that discussion in any way end with you letting me go back to Omega?"

Tevos hesitated, "To be truthful, I would not be able to promise that. You are correct though: you do not seem the sort to resort to violence."

"I'm not. I'm just desperate. I don't quite know what I might do. All I know is that I'm fighting for my freedom. I am not willing however to be at the whim of the council, stuck in the hopes that you might someday resolve your problems with Omega."

"Then you must understand that even though I disagreed with the decision to forcefully remove you from Omega, it will remain my duty to hinder your attempt to escape to the best of my ability."

"I can't fault you for that, I suppose." said Shinji. And no, the Third Child really didn't have anything against Tevos. To Shinji, she actually seemed the sort he would probably get along with…when he wasn't holding her at gunpoint anyways.

"I will of course attempt to mitigate the amount of bloodshed, both toward yourself and to others. Allow me to use the comm link to dismiss the C-Sec officers outside. You may then escort me without risking violence toward yourself."

"Well…I would still have you as a human –sorry, _asari_ shield."

Tevos cocked her head, "I of course would like this situation to end without my death also, if at all possible."

Shinji reached around Tevos' side and hit the control for the intercom, "Go ahead."

She stepped forward to address the panel, "This is Tevos. I am having a guest join me who would prefer to remain anonymous. Kindly ensure the hallway outside my office is vacant for the next five minutes."

A deep, male voice that Shinji recognised as Turian responded a second later, "Understood, councillor, I'll send a rotation order for your guards immediately."

"Thank you," and with that she cut the link and stood back up to full height, "Shall we go?"

Shinji nodded, "Right. Again, I'm…sorry about this. I really don't want to have to shoot you."

"We are very much agreed on that matter."

"If it helps, just…think of it as karma," said Shinji as he nudged the councillor forwards and out the door, looking carefully left and right.

"I'm afraid I don't follow," said Tevos, her eyes dead ahead.

"_Well_, you kidnap me, I kidnap you…"

Tevos inclined her head acceptingly, "I would be lying if I said that I had failed to notice the irony."

"Yeah, life's funny that way. Come on…" said Shinji once he was sure the coast was clear. He nudged the asari on, who flinched again, closing her eyes briefly in mild irritation before walking on.

Shinji limped slightly, the pain in his leg having strangely dulled into a background throb, which he found odd considering that when he'd entered the tower he could still barely walk. He could swear that he could almost feel the pain vanishing further with each step.

"You are injured," commented Tevos, glancing at him.

Shinji shook his head, switching from a gait to a more normal pace, "No, I'm fine…somehow."

"Stop," said Shinji as they approached the secured doors leading to the main floor of the council reception area, "There's too many people out there, most of them probably wanting to speak to you. Is there another way down from the tower?"

Tevos looked over her shoulder, "You expect me to answer that honestly?"

"Fair enough…" said Shinji, jabbing her slightly in the back again to turn her round.

The councillor gasped slightly and her eyes flashed angrily at the human, "Will you _please_ stop poking me there! This situation is humiliating enough as it is without your continued molestation!"

Shinji blushed, "My _what_?" but then his readings of asari physiology came back to mind, and suddenly his cheeks flushed slightly redder, "_Oh…_ oh, I'm so sorry," he said, and quickly adjusted his aim slightly higher up her back, "Is…that better?"

She inclined her head, exhaling slightly, "Yes, thank you…"

"Now, if this is where you and the other councillors stay, then I'm guessing there has to be more than one way out in case of fire or attack. So where is it?"

The councillor sighed and nodded ahead, "There is a one-way emergency transit system. However it only leads down to the Presidium."

Shinji led them on, "It's better than the other way. I'm sure I'll think of something by the time we get there."

"If you do not mind my asking…" said Tevos as Shinji shifted the gun to his left hand.

"What is it?"

"What is the nature of your relationship with Aria T'Loak?"

Shinji couldn't help but roll his eyes, "Ignoring how annoyed I'm getting at people asking that question, just what makes you ask it _now_?"

Tevos almost seemed to shrug, "I am an ambassador; it is my job to open up dialogue. I therefore believe that by opening a personal conversation with you, it creates a slight bond between us and therefore 'humanising me' –if you'll forgive the inaccuracy of the term— in your eyes, therefore reducing the odds of you choosing to utilise that weapon, hence marginally increasing my own chances of survival."

Shinji's eyebrows rose, he cocked his head, "Wow, I…really can't fault your logic, but what makes you think Aria and I even _have_ a relationship?"

Tevos cocked her head, "Unless Aria chose to cancel all Eezo trade with Citadel Space, costing the economy billions of credits every hour, for a reason besides your apprehension, I would find it to be no small coincidence. Even Aria would have normally opened some kind of dialogue before resorting to such actions, not unless she took the incident particularly personally."

Shinji frowned, "You know what Aria is like, don't you?"

Tevos nodded, "I will admit that I am often called on to mitigate-"

"-That's not what I meant, "cut in Shinji as they stepped out onto the transit platform and headed toward the waiting vehicle, "I meant, you know what she's _like…_on the inside."

Tevos seemed reluctant to answer as they climbed into the car, Shinji keeping the weapon aimed at her at all times, "She does leave an _impression_," admitted the councillor after a moment.

"You said you're an ambassador, so you must be good with words. Describe Aria in one," said Shinji, using his left hand to manipulate the controls and power up the transit car.

"I may be 'good with words' as you say, but I am not a poet."

Shinji smiled humourlessly, "We're 'dialoguing' aren't we? So why don't you give it a try anyway."

Tevos' eyes narrowed, "If I were to pick a word, I suppose it would be…discord."

Shinji smirked again, "Opposites attract. No wonder you've ended up together in the past."

Tevos chose not to comment.

Shinji kept his eyes on her as he spoke, "If I were to choose a word, it would either be…fire, or maybe passion. And didn't your mother teach you not to play with fire?"

Tevos looked at Shinji, he obviously understood Aria quite well, and she could see his perspective. Fire she could understand, but not passion. From her experience, Aria had been calculating, cunning, but never had she been allowed to feel any of the passion that may have lain at her core.

"Interesting…" she muttered.

"What is?"

"Are you therefore implying that Aria's reaction is merely how she would have responded in any case?"

Shinji shrugged, "Probably…"

Tevos turned her eyes ahead as the presidium came into view, "I talked to her not long before your arrival." She then turned her gaze to him, watching his reaction carefully.

Tevos noted that Shinji seemed to try not to care, but his next query was expected, "Really? And what did she say?"

"That was the interesting thing. She barely said anything, she didn't comment on you at all. That is what has led me to believe there is more to Aria's actions than normal; Aria T'Loak does not 'mince words' or 'dance around the subject', she lets her feelings be known…almost to a fault in my opinion. I have seen her frustrated and furious in the past, and I had expected to take the brunt of her fury when I contacted her, but…" she trailed off.

"But what?" asked Shinji, curious despite the situation they were in.

"As I said: I am no poet, but if I were to describe Aria's response during our brief exchange, it would be that she was simply too angry to be angry. I will admit I found it…disconcerting. As mentioned, I have seen the levels Aria's temper has reached before, but never have I seen it at that level. " She returned her gaze pointedly to Shinji, "and so I refuse to believe there is nothing more to your relationship than mere friendship, assuming Aria is indeed capable of such a thing."

"Why do you even care?" asked Shinji, scowling at her.

Tevos tilted her head slightly, "Call it curiosity, both personal and professional."

"I…" began Shinji, averting his stare briefly away and then sharply back when he remembered he should probably keep his eyes on his hostage, "I don't know how Aria feels about me. She once let slip that she likes me, but-"

"It's undeniable that she does," cut in Tevos curtly "had you simply been seen as a component important to the EVA, then her reaction would have been far more predictable, but by all means, carry on."

Shinji rolled his eyes, wondering just who was supposed to be in control of this situation, "You might say that I'm good at understanding everyone but myself…"

"Then would you like my opinion on a course of action?"

"Does it involve letting you go?"

She cocked her head, "If that were on the table then I would instantly accept, however as I suspect it is not then I shall not be including it in my suggestion. You may think of this as just…advice from your elder…"

"I'm technically older than you," commented Shinji dryly.

"Regardless. With Aria, I would simply recommend being open. I think you will find that, regardless of what the truth may be, she is the sort to prefer it to a lie or a secret; Aria really does not like lies."

"So you're simply saying I should let her in and stop being reserved?"

"If you'd like…"

"Thanks, you're now officially every other woman and friend who's given me advice throughout my entire life."

She inclined her head, "Then do you not think perhaps that it is time you started listening to them?"

Shinji's brow furrowed in thought, but his attention was drawn away as they circled into a landing and, more importantly, what awaited them down below.

On the landing pad below were a pair of clearly uniformed officers, one human and the other an asari. Both stood at attention, waiting for their arrival.

Tevos chose to comment, "Standard procedure. An alert is sent up whenever the emergency exit transit is utilised. C-Sec is dispatched to render assistance if necessary. It would appear I neglected to mention this." Shinji felt her tone didn't sound very apologetic toward this fact, not that he blamed her.

Shinji cursed under his breath, "I really should've seen this coming."

"Yes," said Tevos, "You probably should. It is not too late, Shinji. Turn over the weapon before we arrive and surrender to me. If you do, you have my word that it will be as if this nonsense never occurred."

Shinji gripped the pistol tightly, "_No…_" he breathed, "I've already taken the first step. I can't turn back now. I won't let myself become someone's plaything in some stupid intergalactic power play…I've been that all my life. I'm _done_ with that!"

Tevos' gaze briefly softened, "Please. You don't have to do this. There is no way for you to-"

"-They want a reason for you to have used the back door?" cut in Shinji quickly, and Tevos watched as he slid the gun safely to his side, "and they were informed you had a 'guest', right?"

Tevos' brow furrowed in confusion as the car touched down, the officers approaching slowly, "Yes, but I fail to see your point."

Shinji clenched his knees, as if steeling himself for something, "then let's give them what they were looking for. And, just so you know, I am really…_really_ sorry for this."

"I'm afraid I don't-" The councillor was unable to continue, gasping as Shinji turned and grasped her by the shoulders to pull her close. She opened her mouth to object, only for Shinji to lean in and cover her lips with his.

Her eyes went wide as Shinji reached his arms round her back, his hands slipping up her dress to gently knead the pressure points he pictured in his mind's eye.

Her startled murmur yelped almost into a squeal before dissolving into a reluctant, pleasured moan. The last thing Shinji saw before she closed her eyes was them shifting into dark black pools, her stretched fingers clenching to dig into his sides.

He glanced at the approaching Asari C-Sec officer, who had stopped in shock, gaping openly at him. He cocked his head pointedly away twice.

The officer's mouth widened in realisation and quickly waved the other officer away. Shinji watched the pair leave, chattering excitedly amongst themselves.

Once they were clear, Shinji pulled himself away from a very shocked and still dazed councillor. He coughed nervously into his hand as they both turned in time to face forwards again. Tevos sat rigid, her hands resting flat atop her legs.

'Okay,' thought Shinji, 'so, definitely going to Hell when I die...'

There was silence for a long, uncomfortable moment, "R-right…" stammered Shinji, "So, o-on with the umm…with the kidnapping then."

Tevos inclined her head, "if you please…"

Shinji picked up the gun and climbed out, the councillor complying and exiting also without needing further coercion, although he couldn't help but notice that she didn't seem as rigid in her posture or even as steady on her feet as she had been before.

Shinji shielded the presence of his sidearm with his jacket as he stopped behind her. He was slightly startled that she spoke first "There is a transit stop not far ahead. It can be taken to the docking area."

"Why should I believe you?"

Tevos cocked her head, "because I really have no reason to lie."

"Fair enough," said Shinji, still feeling the tension in the air.

Tevos walked on, and they barely got a few feet before she broke the silence once more, "_Although…_I am starting to see why Aria is so attached to you."

Shinji flushed slightly redder than he already was, "I…I've never done anything like that with her…w-well, there was that one time…" he attempted to continue but his brain seemed to have lost the ability to feed words back to his mouth.

Tevos nodded, "Indeed? Though if I may ask –out of strictly scientific curiosity, of course—what was it that you did back there?"

Shinji sighed, "It was an ancient Earth acupressure technique. I combined it with what I memorised about Asari nerve clusters and pressure points…that and a particular technique I use when making bread."

"You're saying I was dough in your hands?"

A smirk pulled at the side of Shinji's mouth, "Little bit…though it wasn't hard since you have some quite knotted muscles in your back. Have you ever considered seeing a masseuse occasionally?"

"I've tried telling her that more times than I care to count," sighed a voice off to the side, "but trying to drag Tevos from her work is unfortunately beyond even my abilities."

Shinji tensed, moving to place the councillor between himself and the newcomer to hide the weapon he was still holding and also to make sure he could keep an eye on Tevos' expression.

Standing at the head of one of the bridges that lead over the Presidium Lake, smiling pleasantly, was an asari with light blue skin garbed in soft pink robes. Where she had come from Shinji had no idea. It was almost as if she'd managed to appear out of thin air.

To Tevos' credit, she made no show of any distress and merely inclined her head politely at the newcomer, "As always, Sha'ira, I'm afraid I must prioritise my duties above my personal comfort."

The mysterious asari's smile widened slightly and Shinji watched her slowly approach and then reach up to tenderly touch the councillor's cheek, "As always, you are dutiful almost to a fault, Tevos. It really is a mystery to me how you keep yourself looking as young as you do. But having observed you just now, it warms me to have seen you, shall we say, _indulging_ in the pleasantries of life," her eyes flicked to the young human and back.

Despite herself, Tevos seemed to shift on her feet at the remark. As momentarily curious as he was about the younger asari, Shinji was starting to get antsy. He coughed pointedly, hoping to signal Tevos to end the conversation.

Sha'ira continued speaking, "Though you should be careful. Aria T'Loak has been known to be the jealous type. That's just a bit of friendly advice, from one consort to another…Shinji Ikari."

Shinji was understandably shocked, but oddly found that feeling shifting to weariness, "is there a _reason_ why every single asari I meet seems to know who I am?"

Sha'ira chuckled. The sound was sweet, and almost hypnotically melodious, "I wouldn't worry about it too much."

"Indeed," said Tevos, "I think you will find that Sha'ira just happens to be quite…connected."

"I listen, but never tell," said the consort, her smile turning almost mischievous.

Shinji lowered the weapon and nudged Tevos in the earlier spot, her back arched slightly and, with a startled, "Hmm!" her eyes flicked to Shinji and back with a scowl. Sha'ira cocked her head curiously, "Anyway. As always, it was a pleasure, Sha'ira. But I sense my…_guest_ is getting somewhat distressed."

The consort leaned sideways slightly, tilting her head, "Oh, is that why he's prodding you in the back with a gun?"

Shinji rolled his eyes full circle, "Oh, I'm not very good at this…" He did a quick cursory glance around to make sure they were alone and whipped out the pistol, leveling it at Sha'ira and almost yelping in a slightly higher pitched voice than he intended, "Hostage!"

Sha'ira merely blinked her eyes in confusion, "Excuse me?"

Shinji shook the weapon slightly to indicate it, "Y'know, Y-you're now my hostage…_sorry_."

The Consort turned to Tevos, "Is he being serious?"

She sighed, "I really cannot tell with this one. You will have to forgive his inexperience though; it's his first time."

"_Hey!_"

Despite the situation the Consort just smiled, "I _see_. Then I shall endeavour to be considerate," she cocked her head at Shinji, "If being your prisoner is what you need of me, then I will do my best to accommodate you. Though I must ask this not take too long, as I have several appointments to keep later.

"I just wish to manage your expectations, as I may be forced to leave should this situation protract itself out too far; I have people who rely on me and I cannot let them down. With that in mind, please excuse me while I call my attendant and let her know where I am."

Shinji was starting to feel flummoxed, "W-well if you have to do that, then go right- _wait_!" he snapped, shaking his head, "No you _can't_!" he said incredulously, waving the gun sideways, "Just come over and stand next to the councillor."

The Consort nodded politely, "As you wish," she then approached as requested and turned with her back to Shinji at Tevos' side, "Will this suffice?"

"Yes, that's fine."

Shinji seemed hesitant as what to do next, nor just who to point his gun at.

Sha'ira glanced over her shoulder, as if sensing his feelings, "As you only have one weapon, may I suggest covering just one of us and utilise the threat of injury to your target in order to keep the other in line?"

"Right, thanks…"

Tevos sighed, "Are you giving him advice on how to kidnap us?"

"It's not my first time such a situation. There is no need to worry, Tevos," her eyes softened at Shinji, "he will not hurt either of us, and I think you know that also, " She turned back forwards, "and I can't help but empathize with you, Shinji. Like Tevos, I personally disagreed with the council decision to have you taken from Aria's side. As your hostage, I will do my best to ensure that you do not get hurt as a result of their decision."

"W-well, that's…very kind of you."

"It's no problem."

Tevos glanced at Sha'ira, "Do I even want to know how you discovered which way each of the councillors voted?"

"It really is not my place to tell," she then glanced back at Shinji again, "May I make another suggestion?"

"What is it?" asked Shinji, looking warily about.

"Do not go directly to the docking area. As I've no doubt the councillor has already warned you, the immigration scanners will detect your weapon, plus the presence of Tevos and myself may draw unwanted attention."

Shinji looked to Tevos, "did I just kidnap someone well known?"

"Very well known."

Shinji decided Tevos had had his gun jammed in her back long enough for now, and so switched his aim to the back of the Consort, eliciting an unnerving giggle from her in response, "Where can I find a ship then?" he asked

"You cannot hijack a vessel without setting off a security alert," said Sha'ira, "that would immediately trigger a lockdown of all ships. There is another way however."

"And what's that?"

"Come back to my chambers with me. The best way for you to regain your freedom would be to wait."

"Wait for what?" he asked, frowning at her.

"For Aria to arrive, of course."

Shinji blinked, "Aria's coming here?"

She inclined her head curiously, "Yes. Why, did you doubt that she would come for you?"

Shinji looked away, "I…I'm not sure."

Shinji gasped when he felt the Consort's hand reach back to briefly but tenderly rest it atop of his. The touch was brief and simple, but somehow it also came across as both comforting and sensual. She quickly returned the hand to her side, "You will be soon. Now, shall we go? There is only so long you can stand in the Presidium with a poorly concealed firearm before someone notices."

At that, the Consort began walking, and Shinji found himself wondering at what point he lost control of the situation. His eyes were then drawn to Tevos, and he then strongly began to suspect he had never been in control of it in the first place.

-Ω-

Aria strode through Immigration alone, eyes set ahead. She turned to walk towards the security scanner, walking right past the desk as if it weren't there.

"Excuse me!" called the human C-sec officer at the desk, pushing himself quickly up to lean around his window, "Ma'am!" he called at the asari who had completely ignored the fact he even existed.

With a fumble, he reached for his panel and pushed a control. Two security doors slid closed in front of the scanner, cutting off Aria's path.

Aria skidded to a halt, the officer watched as she clenched her fists open and closed at her sides, "Ma'am! I'm going to have to ask you...Umm…" he trailed off as he noticed she was now glaring murderously back at him.

His brow furrowed, and his confusion turned to terrified recognition. Aria seemed to sway into a one eighty turn and began almost drifting towards him, the subtle glow of biotic power becoming visible, "I…ahh…really need to see your-"

To the man's salvation, his superior, an asari C-sec lieutenant, happened to be passing by and recognised instantly the face of the one who looked ready to blast apart her subordinate.

The officer rested her hand on the man's shoulder. He flinched at the touch, "Why don't you take a quick break. I'll handle this one."

The man nodded, "thanks ma'am, perfect timing as always…"

The lieutenant smiled politely and sat down, "Now then. How can I help you today, ma'am?"

Aria rested her palms on the edge of the desk and leaned forward, "I take it you know who I am."

She nodded curtly , appearing unthreatened to her credit, "I do. And I'm sorry, Aria, but you're going to still have to-"

"No…" cut in the seething asari, "No, I really won't. Now, unless the next words out your mouth aren't 'welcome to the Citadel', then we're going to have one very large problem here..."

The officer just sighed. There were of course Council standing orders for dealing with people like Aria.

Strictly speaking, the asari pirate had a list of arrest warrants more than a light year in length, but the number of crimes that could actually be pinned to her could probably be written on the back of a matchbox, and they were so petty that they really weren't worth the manhours or admin work that would be needed to force her to do more than an hour of community service.

"This'll just take a little bit. We just need to clear a visa application, fill out a few declarations and you'll be free to…" she trailed off as Aria was already punching commands into her Omnitool.

"Aria?" came Tevos' almost urgent voice as she appeared over the holographic display. Aria noted she looked somewhat startled, which was an oddity for the stoic councillor.

"That's right. Now will you get this walking paperweight here to let me pass? Or is this situation going to have to get messy?"

"Let her through," said the councillor quickly, returning her attention urgently to Aria, her voice lowering to barely a whisper as the pirate walked dismissively away from the lieutenant at the desk, "Aria. You need to listen-"Aria killed the link, cutting off the councillor.

It probably wasn't that important anyway.

As soon as Aria crossed the security field and into the public waiting area outside the dock, four asari in non-descript clothes bled out of the mingling crowd and fell into step behind her.

As they boarded the elevator, Aria held her arms out to the side as one of the four withdrew a pistol and a shotgun from concealment before locking them into place in the holsters behind Aria's back. All the while their employer paid no heed to them, having expected their presence, and was already busy checking her Omnitool.

"Orders, Aria?" asked the lead commando.

Aria didn't look up, "Find Shinji Ikari. His Omnitool has been deactivated, but the tracker in his sidearm is responding to my transmission. I think that's a good place to start."

The assault squad indicated their understanding, ready to back their mistress up should their skills be needed.

-Ω-

Tevos sighed as the link was cut off, "It really irritates me when people do that…"

"So she's here…" said Shinji, the pistol resting in his lap but not away from his fingertips. They were sat in the Consort's room at the rear of the chambers. They had managed to excuse their way past her acolytes. In fact, it had almost seemed to Shinji that they had been expecting him to walk in with her. But that was impossible, he reasoned…

"I did tell you," said Sha'ira, who was calmly sitting on the edge of her bed, at least Shinji assumed the structure was her bed anyways.

Tevos was pacing slowly, obviously not seeing fit to actually sit.

Shinji kept his wary eye on the councillor. He wasn't sure if the councillor was a matriarch or not (and indeed, he assumed it rude to ask) but he knew from study that elder asari often had highly developed biotic abilities, and he still wasn't sure if she was going to make good her promise to attempt to thwart him as per her duty.

The former pilot really wasn't sure what to make of Sha'ira in terms of threat posed though. She certainly was wise, and Shinji held no doubt she had the same biotic capabilities as shared by the majority of her race. Regardless of that, he oddly didn't feel in the least bit threatened by her. To him, she seemed the sort who could somehow balance atop an ant without crushing it.

A small part of Shinji told him that this alone probably made her even more dangerous than the councillor. It was only the fact that he might be able to take one of them out before they could use their biotic powers that allowed Shinji to feel any semblance of control.

No, a small, rebellious part of his mind told him, Shinji wouldn't be able to shoot either of them even if they resisted, even if it was just to injure. His freedom, his very life, wasn't worth either of theirs to him.

The fact that he knew both the asari probably knew this too really made him wonder why they hadn't called his bluff yet. For Sha'ira it seemed to be out of some mysterious sense of kindness that he suspected would run out whenever she felt too much of her time had been wasted, but what about Tevos?

She'd _said_ she would leap at the first opportunity to betray him, but that hadn't happened yet.

Shinji's attention was drawn away when one of the acolytes entered, "Sha'ira. I hope you'll forgive my interruption…"

"Of course…" replied the Consort with a nod, smiling kindly as always, "what seems the matter?"

"It's just…your next appointment is in five minutes, do you not wish for time between to prepare for your next client?"

"There has been-" she began to reply.

"-An extension," cut in Shinji, not looking up, his pistol concealed "I'm afraid I'll be borrowing the Consort's time a little longer."

The acolyte seemed startled and confused. She looked between them. Shinji looked up to see Sha'ira looking questioningly at him. He felt his gaze harden at her and she seemed to sigh sadly in response, "It is…as he says. If you could please pass along my most humble and personal apologies."

The acolyte looked at Shinji as he shifted to hide the weapon better in his jacket, then between the councillor and the Consort.

She inclined her head curtly, "I understand…" and then backed slowly away and departed.

There was a brief moment of silence before Shinji let out a long, tired sigh, "First of all…I really am sorry, Sha'ira."

The consort's smile was warm but pitying, "It is quite alright, Shinji…"

"Second of all…did I just give myself away?"

The Consort merely inclined her head, "You did. I am sorry."

"Damn…"

Shinji then picked up his weapon and, with a sigh, pointed it at Sha'ira, "Please tell all of your servants to leave. I don't want this getting any worse than it has to."

Tevos sighed, "You can end it right now, Shinji. All you need do is lower your weapon."

"No…" he whispered, "I will be free…or I will be nothing."

Sha'ira seemed sad for the human as she stood solemnly up and headed to her desk to issue the order, knowing that if her chief acolyte somehow hadn't noticed what was going on, then this would be the signal for it.

Shinji waited for a few moments and then, after making sure his pistol was fully armed, led the two asari back into the now empty chambers.

The human paused by the entrance, looking out over the bridge. He looked off to the side. There was no sign of the acolytes. Neither were there any C-Sec personnel around just yet. It was obvious to Shinji therefore that Sha'ira hadn't simply sent out a 'oh my god, get out and call for help, there's a maniac in here with a gun!' message, nor did he think she had basically just dismissed them without explanation, as this would've most likely have had the same effect. He did see however a trio in uniforms starting to edge slowly across the bridge in his direction. It was therefore clear regardless of what Sha'ira had said that word had indeed been sent out.

The lead officer, a Turian Shinji could clearly see from this distance, caught his eye. The officer paused, keeping his gaze locked with Shinji as he backed slowly inside. Shinji spied the officer nod sharply to his colleagues as he ducked back into the chambers.

Shinji moved quickly over to the receptionist console and sealed the door from inside. He turned about and was ready to aim his weapon at Sha'ira, but she was already approaching, she reached by him and manipulated the controls. Suddenly, there was the shunting sound of bolts sliding into place, "I assume you were going to ask me to seal the door, under the quite correct belief that in this place my access codes can outweigh even those of station security?"

"Y-yeah…" admitted Shinji sheepishly, "kind of."

"Then I am again glad that I could accommodate you. I find myself genuinely pained to admit however that there is no way for me to help you further. I am regretfully now little more than your prisoner."

Tevos considered commenting to the human how he was digging himself deeper, and that soon even she could not end the situation without him getting locked away for a very long period of time, but she sensed he would not listen and so held her tongue.

Shinji swung back about as he heard the sound of the door being accessed from the other side, followed shortly by the alert banging on the metal surface from the officers on the other side.

There was nothing for it…

He tapped a few controls on the console. Above the panel, a holographic asari shimmered into being, her body was a dense violet and apparently webbed with circuitry.

The VI looked up at the human, addressing him with professional politeness, "Hello, this is Avina. And how may I direct your query today?"

"Do you know who I am?" asked Shinji, his voice low and almost resigned.

Avina cocked her head, "You are Shinji Ikari, recent arrival to the citadel, designated guest of the council. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yes, just one thing. I want you to send a message to your security force. Can you do that?"

Avina nodded, "I am quite able to pass along messages to C-Sec public queries, who I am sure will respond as soon as a representative becomes available."

"Then pass this along. Tell them I currently have Councillor Tevos and Consort Sha'ira held hostage. I am armed, and wish to negotiate for their release."

Avina seemed to give pause, "I am sorry, but given the nature of this communication I have been forced to transmit an urgent alert directly to C-Sec headquarters. Please hold your current position and an officer will be along momentarily to take you into custody, I recommend you do not resist. This terminal will now deactivate until the alert has been resolved. Thank you for using Avina."

Shinji watched the VI vanish and turned back toward the door. He noted the banging had suddenly stopped. He strongly suspected however that the real noise was still very much to come…

"And now I wait…"

"Would you like me to fetch you both some refreshments?" asked the Consort, who still seemed oddly undisturbed by the whole situation.

"Yes, Sha'ira," sighed Shinji, sitting down "a last meal sounds very nice…"

-Ω-

In the depths of the Wards, a lone asari sat on a step in a disused cargo area.

It was only a matter of time.

Tisala sat in silence, legs hugged up to her chest as she dwelled on mistakes of the past, wondering if there really was anything that she could've done differently.

She made no move as she saw the shadows stretch into view from behind her. Five of them, she counted, focusing on her peripheral.

A little much, thought the former Spectre, but then that was to be expected.

She saw one of the shadows break away from the group, the outline becoming visible alongside her.

She heard the figure as it bent down to retrieve the Omnitool and Paladin she'd left haphazardly on the ground a few metres behind her.

There was the distinct mechanical click of a pistol being armed. Tisala closed her eyes as she then felt the cold, unmistakable press of a gun barrel against the back of her head.

"You're late…" said Tisala with sad irony.

"Spectre…"

"_Former_…spectre," corrected Tisala quietly, "I'm afraid my employment with the council just expired."

Aria regarded Tisala for a brief pause before continuing, pressing the gun in slightly harder, "_Where?_" she demanded, her tone like ice.

Tisala didn't need clarification, "I left him with councillor Tevos. Don't worry, he's safe."

"_Noted_…" and so, Aria began to squeeze the trigger.

"I want you to know one last thing," said the former spectre suddenly, "Before I die, you're going to hear me out."

Aria narrowed her eyes at the back of her head, "Well?"

Tisala's head rose up slightly, "It was the lesser of two evils," she said simply, "I mean; I was dead either way, and I accept that, but that was where there was a choice I had to make.

"My orders, once I had informed the council about the EVA, were to 'neutralise the threat'. Nothing more, nothing less; the council prefers to let each Spectre utilise their own judgement on how best to resolve a mission. My choice was to bring him back to the Citadel, where the EVA would be rendered useless. The other thing I could've done of course was simply to kill him, and I couldn't do that…but believe me, there are many Spectres who would've taken that option. And so I had two choices. One: I take Shinji to the Citadel, and you kill me. Or there was two: I disobey, _Spectre_ kills me and, having just executed me on board Omega, no doubt at the heart of your security, they most likely would simply proceed to make it a double assassination rather than then risk attempting to pull off an elaborate abduction and escape.

"I was doomed to die, but I sure as hell wasn't taking him with me. And so, _Aria_…" she said, turning about and standing up to look the pirate in the eye even as she switched her aim to the former spectre's forehead, "You can kill me, but I'll at least die knowing that, out of what choice I had, I still managed to do the right thing."

There was one query Aria wanted to ask, something that didn't add up, "Why did you bother to resign then?"

Tisala smiled humourlessly, "Call it one last lame attempt at protest. Symbolic, but nothing more. Plus, you can call it my thanks for the shelter you provided me with over the years. It causes much less of a stir to kill a civilian than a Spectre."

Aria inclined her head. It was a valid point, "Thank you for your consideration."

"No problem, Aria," and then she closed her eyes again as Aria retook aim.

Aria moved to pull the trigger, but then something stopped her. While it was rare for Aria to ever misjudge the loyalties of others, she had to wonder that, if through this unwanted treachery, a greater form of loyalty could be gained.

Aria narrowed her eyes in thought. She doubted Tisala was lying; she really had no reason to when there was no way to know Aria wouldn't kill her. If she _had _wanted to give Aria pause to consider consequence, then surely she would've stayed under the protection of Spectre.

She remembered an earlier thought she had had: Loyalty and respect was not earned easily on Omega, but when it was…

Through the betrayal, Aria saw what could be a very valuable asset. One act of 'mercy' meant she would essentially own her loyalty, and a former Spectre could be especially valuable.

Tisala opened her eyes in confusion when she felt the pressure from the gun vanish and Aria lower it to her side. She frowned, "What are you doing?"

"From now on," said Aria in a low voice as she turned about, keeping her eyes locked the other asari, "you work for me. You work _only_ for me."

Tisala seemed to waver on her feet. This really wasn't going how she'd expected. Heck, just a few moments prior she'd barely finished her prayers of atonement to the goddess. It was clear to her however that Aria didn't mean 'work' in the traditional term of employment. No, this was a debt that she would not ever be able to repay.

By letting her live, Aria hadn't just spared her, she now _owned_ her.

"Yes, Aria…" she intoned, bowing her head.

"And one more thing…" said Aria, still with her back to her.

"Wh-" Tisala began, only for Aria to swing about and backhand her with the butt of the pistol in her hand, knocking her to the floor and splitting her lip open in the process.

"In future, don't be such a dumb fuck. Consider coming to me first. Understood?"

Tisala nodded, "Crystal clear, Aria."

Aria nodded and turned to walk back the way she came, "Good. Now let's sort this-"Aria was cut off by the wailing of an alarm that suddenly echoed out down the corridor from somewhere up ahead, "What the fuck is going on now?"

Tisala got back to her feet and stepped forward, looking toward the direction of the sound, "That's a general security alert," she pulled up the display on her Omnitool, "It looks like all civilians are being ordered to evacuate the presidium walkway areas."

Aria looked down at the display, "What's the situation?"

Tisala shook her head, "I'm not sure. C-sec hasn't released any details onto he public networks yet."

"Do you still have Spectre clearance?"

"W-well yes, it hasn't been revoked yet, but technically I really shouldn't…" Tisala was aware of Aria's eyes flicking up to glare at her, "…really shouldn't worry about that right now, "she immediately began to input her override code.

"Good girl," said Aria tensely, "Now, what's going on?"

Tisala pulled up the C-sec dispatch readouts and Aria watched as her eyes traced the screen before widening in shock, "Its councillor Tevos. She's been taken hostage!"

Aria blinked in surprise, "What? I thought you said Shinji was with her."

"Aria…" said Tisala, her disbelieving eyes going to look at her "_Shinji's_ the one who's taken her prisoner."

Aria was silent, as if the words were having trouble processing, "…what?" she asked flatly.

"Oh, it gets worse…" she said grimly, shaking her head, "He's only gone and taken Sha'ira too. They're held up inside the Consort Chambers and C-Sec are forming a cordon around the Presidium bridge just outside."

"Wait!" snapped Aria, "What the fuck are you talking about! _Shinji_?" she demanded incredulously, "Shinji? Human, about a head shorter than me, brown hair, tends to flinch easily, likes really shit music?"

Tisala cocked her head, still looking at the screen, "In not so many words…yes."

"Shinji couldn't take a _mouse_ hostage, let alone the asari councillor and the Consort! What in the fuck did he threaten them with; harsh words and a cello recital? I'm assuming you left him unarmed."

"Of course I did! You've got his sidearm and Omnitool right there. Nice touch with that one by the way, he nearly cut my throat open with that damned Omniblade on the journey over. See this bruise on my forehead, it's part of a very nice matching set he was kind enough to give me. Aria..." she paused briefly, shaking her head slowly as she spoke, "he is not nearly as weak as he looks..."

"He does have a mean kick, I'll give him that. But that doesn't explain how he could hold two asari…" Aria suddenly trailed off, her eyes being drawn back to Tisala, "Did Shinji bump into you at any point after you got to the Citadel?" she found herself asking.

Tisala frowned, "Once or twice, why?"

"And since your resignation, have you turned in your sidearm?"

Tisala frowned, "Not yet, I still have it."

Aria narrowed her eyes at her, "Are you _sure_ about that?"

Tisala reached behind her back for her holster, "Of course I do, it's right-"her words died as her hand gripped nothing but air. She padded about, looking over her shoulder, "It's gone… I mean I had it when I…" the words stopped as it came to her. She dropped her hands to her side, "He stole it?"

"He tends to do that," said Aria dismissively, "So…he nearly cut a Spectre's throat, stole her weapon, and then took two of the most influential asari in the galaxy prisoner at gunpoint." she paused to dwell on it and then inclined her head, "You know, I can't help but feel slightly proud..."

Tisala dabbed at the wound on her lip with a drop of Medi-gel, "But what are you going to do, Aria?"

She began walking again, the other commandos falling into step with her, "I'm going to sort this out before he gets his stupid ass killed…"

-Ω-

Shinji opened the door to the chambers to quite a spectacle. C-Sec vehicles hovered over the lake and in the skies above, their larger cannons trained all on him, side-doors open also and officers ready at the turrets within.

There was a huge semicircle of officers set up behind barriers both in front of the bridge and along it. And a number of what appeared to be automated turrets had been prepared also, lining the edge of the lake to obviously prevent his escape.

Circling just atop the nearest of the C-Sec cars was another vehicle, this one white and slightly larger than most with the logo for the Alliance News Network emblazoned on the side.

All in all it seemed somewhat overkill to Shinji considering he was only one person with one gun.

Since it had turned out that the negotiator had no idea who he was or what his demand to be just 'allowed to leave' was all about, they had managed to agree to get the remaining councillors out to discuss the situation. True, they were stood behind their own individual barricades and kinetic barriers, and appeared to have nearly a battalion of personal security out with them, but it was the fact that they were here that mattered.

Shinji kept Tevos in front of him, his weapon pressed firmly into her. He didn't step into the open and kept the asari between him and any of the cars that attempted to swerve off to the side and to try and line up a shot from his flank.

Shinji had no doubt that there were probably dozens of snipers already nested and just waiting for that clean shot. He considered that some of them might already have one lined up, but both he and they knew that even if they fired a bullet into his head, he may still reflexively pull the trigger on the weapon pointed at Tevos.

"Very well," announced the Turian councillor once silence had fallen, his voice being amplified by the same field that protected him, "You have our attention, Shinji Ikari. Though I find myself being forced to ask just how you possibly feel you can get out of this situation in any way that will be beneficial to yourself."

"You're right, councillor, I probably can't," admitted Shinji, "All I know is that my freedom has been taken away from me, _by you_, and that now I'm getting very desperate."

"The council does not negotiate with terrorists," announced the interim human councillor loudly, "Even if you are one of our own, we will stand by our allies within Citadel Space fully against such atrocious actions as these!"

Shinji got very irritated at how blatantly the human representative was pandering to the press who they were in clear sight of, "A _terrorist_?" he shouted, briefly pausing to apologise to Tevos for bawling in her ear, "You _have_ told everyone what you did to me, haven't you?"

The human councillor, an aging woman on the trailing edge of her autumn years, suddenly seemed far more reluctant to speak up, "Whatever decisions that were made were made gravely, and were always open to further possible discussion."

"Illegally assaulting me and having me abducted from Omega; which I'm told is _outside_ of your jurisdiction, is something you merely call open for '_possible _discussion'?"

Shinji could tell the councillors were seeing this going in a bad direction, as it was obvious the Salarian delegate had just begun issuing additional orders to the man who appeared to be in charge of the security force and also to the snipers resting atop the vehicle behind her.

So, thought Shinji, they were going to try and silence him. Silence him before everyone found out they were the ones responsible for the billions currently being lost as a result of their decisions.

Shinji regarded the three councillors witheringly, 'Different place, different time, different _universe…_same self-serving beaurocrats.'

"Fucking politicians…" he hissed under his breath, glancing briefly at Tevos, "no offence."

"None taken…"

"I personally think," came a familiar voice that made Shinji take a sudden breath, "a bit of open negotiation to be a very good idea right now. What do you think, councillors?" asked Aria as she essentially shoved her way past the line of officers, flanked by her own security.

The three councillors, despite looking like the devil himself had just appeared ready to take their souls, still began demanding of the security officer for an explanation, to which he could only helplessly indicate the Spectre whom Aria had somewhat sheepishly tagging along behind her.

Aria stopped before the councillors, glancing over at where Tevos stood, "Now then, I believe you have something that belongs to me?"

"Since when am I a thing?" shouted Shinji, peeking out from behind Tevos.

"Oh, there you are…" said Aria almost disinterestedly, "you okay?"

"So-so…"

"May I be excused now?" asked Sha'ira, stepping out into the doorway at Shinji's side.

"O-oh, yes," stammered Shinji, "Sorry about all this and…thanks for all your time."

She merely inclined her head and walked out, "Don't worry about it. I am sure we will speak again…"

She paused by Aria's side, "Aria…"

"Sha'ira." She intoned with what bordered for her on courtesy, "So, how much is this all going to cost me?"

"I'll make sure my assistant sends you the bill for my time used on top of what I had already allocated to your consort in advance, but I'll be sure to give you a discount given the circumstances. Besides, I haven't had this much excitement in quite some time."

"Not since your last kidnapping you mean?"

Sha'ira smiled, "Shinji was very gentle, though. I feel I must suggest you be the same with him. His will may be strong, but his heart is as fragile as glass. Your flame could make that crystal glow just as easily as it could cause it to become brittle enough to shatter, please keep that in mind, Aria…"

Aria cocked her head with a frown, "I'll do my best," and watched as the Consort vanished into the line of officers to be escorted away to safety.

"Now then," said Aria, turning to the three very uncomfortable looking councillors, "Where were we?" she asked, her voice dripping with malice.

It was then however, that Shinji made a grave error. Perhaps it was Aria's presence lending him some confidence, he couldn't be sure, but as he shifted to get a slightly better view of the proceedings, he dropped his guard, inadvertently moving his gun away from the councillor's back and into clear view of those ahead for just the briefest of instants.

Tevos felt the weapon move and was actually about to whisper a sudden warning, but the slipup had been enough, and more importantly, it hadn't gone _unnoticed._

One of the officers behind the Salarian councillor saw the opportunity. Shinji saw the barrel of the rifle rising up toward him and felt his entire body freeze as the man squeezed the trigger.

There was a blur of shadow however, and Shinji saw Tisala's hand lash out and strike the man's arm just as the round was fired, altering his aim by a fraction of a degree at the last instant.

It really was like one of those moments where you drop something fragile and have just enough time to process what was about to happen, but still not be able to do anything as it shatters into a million pieces off the floor.

No, realised Shinji in that one, horrified moment as time seemed to slow…he couldn't let what was about to happen occur.

'**NO!**' he bellowed in his mind.

And then, much to his surprise, everything actually _did_ seem to slow, grinding down to a halt all around him.

Shinji's gasp echoed over the silence around him, the entire world appeared to be frozen and blanketed in grey. A ghostly moment, caught in time.

That was when a hauntingly familiar voice spoke up, echoing through his heart, 'Are you okay with this, Ikari-kun?'

Shinji stared wide-eyed in utter disbelief at what was before him: Stood out in the open just ahead, with the bullet frozen by the side of her head and ready to pass, was the glowing form of Rei Ayanami. She was poised between him and the line of officers, the green of her uniform and the red of her bow was a stark contrast to the greyed out world around them.

"Ayanami?" he breathed, shocked by the face he'd not seen for countless eons.

She tilted her head curiously, her voice as soft as he remembered, 'Are you okay with this?' she repeated tenderly.

"Of course I'm not!" he objected, his voice desperate, "I want to do something, but what else can I do?"

'I can help you, Shinji…but only this once. From here on, it will have to be of your own will. You must open your heart once more and embrace all that which was entrusted to you.'

"I…I don't understand!"

'You will in time, but for now…' intoned Rei, closing the distance between them, she offered her hand to him, palm up. Resting on it was a tiny sphere of glowing red light, 'will this be enough?'

Shinji wasn't sure why, but he knew he could put his faith in her, just one last time...

He nodded and reached his hand for hers, and felt her light flood into him.

And then, just as the grey of the world began to vanish, Rei smiled, that rarest of things that she did for so very few, 'Well that's good for you…'

Suddenly, everything was moving again, and Shinji didn't need to think, he just did what he knew on instinct _needed _to be done. He had, after all, done it in the EVA so many times before…

With a blur of movement, the Third Child's right hand shot up in front of them. There was a shimmering of light in the air, of something invisible unfolding and expanding.

An instant later there was a deafening high pitched whine and Tevos gasped, frozen to the spot, her eyes fixed not only on the massive orange field that had appeared out of nowhere and now filled her view, but also on the bullet that had been halted on its journey a mere six inches from her right eye.

Shinji's body seemed to glow from within, as if his skin had been dipped in a pool of the purest moonlight. Tevos took a slight breath as Shinji turned to regard her out of concern. His left eye was its usual cobalt blue, but the iris of the other was now a vibrant, ruby red.

Wordlessly, Shinji stepped around the councillor and clear into the open, leaving her safely behind in the chambers as every eye focused in on him.

A smile that showed just a few too many teeth pulled at the edge of the Third Child's mouth. He held his arms out to the side, as if to embrace everything they had to throw at him, "Alright then, _let's_ _negotiate..._"

With the council stunned into gawking silence, the weapons of C-Sec spoke for them. The tranquil calm of the Presidium was shattered by a deafening roar of thunder as nearly a hundred automatic weapons proceeded to open fire...

-Ω-

_To be continued…_

[A/N] Huh… well that just happened. Anyways, I hope you had fun this time round. Hmm, I intended this chapter to be shorter than this, but it never really seems to turn out that way for me. Meh, they're as long as they need to be to get the job done, as for where Shinji had his gun pointed, that was just a little nod to the fanon on their theory of where a certain part of asari physiology may or may not be, even if it's not and even if you've not read about that, I just thought it amusing for Shinji to have his gun sticking in what Tevos at least considered one of her sensitive spots. Regardless, consider this chapter my treat for your weekend, until next time.

Catch you in Chapter 13: Consequence


	13. Chapter 13: Consequence

[A/N] Well I suppose I should say sorry for leaving things on increasingly sharp cliffhangers, but when chapters feed directly into one another like these past few, that tends to happen, I can only hope whatever wait that has been endured since the last chapter wasn't too bad, I wouldn't know since I always write this bit before starting the chapter itself. Seriously, there's nothing but a white void after these words, but it's time to change that…

Note: Chapter now revised and slightly modified. Thanks for your suggestions and help with a few minor corrections.

**Chapter 13: Consequence**

Shinji's very perception seemed to have been altered; he could see the storm of death as it hurtled inexorably toward him in slow motion like a great cloud of metallic flies.

He flicked an eyebrow up and his AT field responded. The air was lit up by orange flashes from the barrier's phase variance, the projectiles ricocheting harmlessly off it like raindrops in a pond.

The Angel-infused human frowned with almost detached curiosity as the ground shook about him, the cars above having switched to high-impact rounds.

'Huh, so I have an AT field now…' thought Shinji with almost dull surprise, the sacred space behind the barrier oddly silent, 'That really should worry me more than it does. But something tells me I shouldn't let this go on for too long.'

He remembered Ayanami's words, about how this was a one-off. If that were the case then he was sure that also meant he couldn't manipulate this level of power indefinitely.

But still, he could almost unconsciously feel how much strength had been imparted onto him, and he knew that if he unleashed it all at once he could probably exterminate every single one of the C-Sec officers in one devastating sweep.

But that would be unforgivable.

Shinji heard the commander of the security force order his men to concentrate their fire in order to 'deplete his barrier.'

Oh, how little the poor man knew...

And since Shinji couldn't spy a positron rifle being powered by an entire nation anywhere on the Presidium, he had to assume C-Sec hadn't come equipped with any effective Anti-AT field weaponry.

"Switch to warp ammo!" Shinji heard the commander shout, and the next barrage of projectiles rippled against the fabric of his AT field, trying to gnaw their way through the barrier and get to him, but shifting through an AT field was like attempting to swim to the bottom of a vast chasm under your own strength: by the time you got there you'd probably be out of strength. And indeed, these attempts failed as badly as the rest.

Shinji's brow twitched into a frown as blasts of biotic energy began to pummel against his shield. Shockwaves and singularities impacted, formed and dissipated harmlessly.

Shinji considered just sitting there and waiting for them to run out of ammo and go home, but after three minutes of non-stop, continuous fire, the situation was starting to lose its novelty.

'No wonder the Angels shoot back even though they can't be harmed. This really does get annoying after a while.'

He saw Aria crouched down behind the closest barrier, and though he couldn't hear her words, she seemed to be in the midst of a very aggressive conversation with the Turian councillor, if shouting and threatening a politician could be considered a conversation anyways. Her gaze flicked to him and, for just that briefest of instances, he saw the disbelief in her eyes and, for even an briefer, almost imperceptible amount of time…concern.

She saw him, one so small standing before the fear and hatred of hundreds. He was taking it all and not fighting back...some things really didn't change for him after all, she thought.

That made her angry for some reason…very angry.

She narrowed her eyes at him, and then nodded her head.

Shinji understood her instantly: Her permission had been given.

He scowled at the three councillors as they cowered. They wouldn't stop. No, this wasn't an attempt to subdue him and help their colleague. It was a demonstration of power, an attempt to show Aria who was really still in control.

Perhaps it was time, thought Shinji, to correct their misconception.

"Aria!" called Shinji, his voice echoing almost ethereally over the sound of discharging weapons as he clenched his fists at his sides.

Aria looked up, drawing herself to her feet at his call. Tisala and the commandos were all stood about her defensively with their weapons drawn.

"Can you swim?" he asked simply, and Aria heard a high pitched whining beginning to resonate in the air, a single harmonic note getting louder, of something building.

Aria barked a warning at her allies and she dived clear of the bridge and into the lake, her associates trailing just behind. This was barely an instant before Shinji thrust his arms forward and reversed the force of his AT field directly ahead.

To be honest, he was thankful that they'd chosen to line up so neatly for him.

The amassed C-Sec forces may not have known what an AT field was, but they wouldn't have been surprised to know that when the power capable of containing an isolated pocket of space is suddenly flicked into reverse, the effect can, and will, be quite devastating.

The shockwave struck the forward barriers, not shattering them but still with enough force to hurl both them and the councillors with their guards hurtling back several metres, the rest of the wave carrying on down the length of the bridge and tossing both equipment and personnel clear through the air like rows of dominos.

The unfortunate men and women caught in the attack were most likely not killed, but Shinji had no doubt there would be many broken bones in need of setting.

Shinji then arched about and, snarling, swung his left arm in the direction of the turrets, the orange barrier flickered outwards with his motion.

His targets being merely machines this time, Shinji allowed the force of the wave to be totally unrestrained, tearing up the entire walkway between him and his targets with explosive force, shattering the entire line of turrets on impact and hurling both them and massive chunks of debris from the ground they stood on into the lake.

Still glaring almost ferally, the Third Child turned his attention to the cars hovering above.

Seeing his attention turn in their direction, the people in the news network vehicle suddenly decided their hazard pay really wasn't enough to justify their presence, and sharply veered off to safety.

Shinji raised his right hand up and arched his body to the side slightly, narrowing his eyes at the C-Sec vehicles. He then hesitated, an unspoken threat being clearly declared.

The firing stopped.

Silence blanketed the Presidium suddenly, broken only by the pattering sound of residual debris clattering to the ground.

Shinji dropped his hands to his sides and slipped them into his jacket pockets. Then he started walking, advancing slowly on the three councillors with seemingly infinite patience.

The C-Sec officers were still downed, the air filled by pained groaning as the Third Child closed in. The cars above kept their weapons trained in on him. One of them obviously had a twitching trigger finger, as the automatic cannon on that vehicle whined as it spun before releasing a trail of shots at the slowly moving target.

Shinji kept his gaze ahead as he extended his hand off to the side, his AT field batting the steam of projectiles out of the air as easily as one might swat at flies.

Shinji paused and flicked his gaze sideward, turning his attention to the offending vehicle. From this distance he could see both the driver and the way he now sat frozen in his cab like a deer in headlights, held by the glare of the Third Child.

Holding his gaze, Shinji raised his extended hand upward slightly and then flicked it downward. The offensive force of his AT Field sliced through the forward corner of the vehicle like an axe, tearing it almost cleanly off and sending the entire car spinning uncontrollably into the Presidium Lake below.

Shinji snarled and looked up, glowering at the other vehicles, holding his arms out "Anybody else!?"

A single gunshot rang out, the AT field resonating to Shinji's right as the bullet struck and bounced away without effect.

Slowly, Shinji turned his head in the direction the shot had come from. Another shot came, again to no avail. Shinji then saw the one who was still firing.

The Salarian councillor was lying flat on her chest, clearly terrified, a C-Sec standard issue pistol in her outstretched, shaking hand.

Shinji couldn't help an amused smile from pulling at the edge of his mouth as he turned fully round and began walking towards her. Again and again she fired, Shinji closing to within a few metres as he narrowed his field closer about his body.

He stopped, standing over her as she vainly aimed the weapon up and fired at point blank range, the bullet ricocheting upwards an inch from Shinji's forehead.

The next attempt drew an angry alert from the weapon as it overheated and immediately shut itself down to prevent the thermal clip from exploding in the user's hand.

Shinji drummed his fingers against his leg, cocking an eyebrow at the councillor. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to find the strength to speak, but no words came. Shinji watched as the gun slipped numbly from her shaking fingers and clattered to the walkway between them.

Aria walked round the side of the bridge and onto it, dripping wet but otherwise unharmed. She stopped dead as she took in the devastated Presidium. Her eyes went from the demolished turrets nearby to the downed C-Sec shuttle and finally to the almost completely flattened security force.

Soaking wet or not, Aria was glad she'd gotten out of the way.

It was then that she saw Shinji, standing in silence over the fallen council, face to face with the Salarian delegate.

The Turian ambassador and his human counterpart pulled themselves groggily to their feet, their barriers and top of the line shielding having offered more protection than their C-Sec guards.

"Are you alright?" asked Aria as she approached, the whole scene seeming far too quiet. She could almost feel the subtle resonance in the air around the human, his skin still glowing from within somehow.

She stopped at his side, looking sideways and seeing the red eye that was still trained on the Salarian below. The asari wanted to talk about what had just happened out there, and just what this change in the human meant, but Aria got the feeling that Shinji wanted to talk about anything but.

She would respect that wish.

Shinji merely nodded an affirmative, "You?"

"Wet behind the collar, but I'll live," she then stepped forward, drawing the councillor's attention to her, "Now then," she said, "Are we done here?"

"I think that will be quite enough for one day," grumbled the Turian councillor, the old warrior finding his composure before the others.

Aria glanced at the Salarian delegate who, through her fear, now seemed to seethe with anger, "And what if we refuse to allow him to leave?" she demanded, a note of defiance in her voice.

Aria merely cocked her head, seeming amused, "The answer to that is simple," she said, glancing at Shinji.

The human continued for her, "If you won't let me go," said Shinji, pausing to take in the devastation around him, "I'll _stay_."

"But I would be glad to take him off your hands," said Aria cordially.

"What has happened today-" began the Salarian, her voice dark.

Aria's composure suddenly evaporated, cutting off the councillor, "what happened today was a deceleration of _war_ against the Terminus systems. I mean, what the _fuck_ were you three incompetent fools thinking?" She glanced over her shoulder as Tevos, the only councillor who had ended up without a scratch on her, "Why is it only one of you fuckers understood the situation between us?"

"And what situation is that?" demanded the human councillor, pushing herself to her knees.

"The situation; the status quo, was simple: you leave me be, and I attract and keep nearly all of the scum of the galaxy contentedly contained and out of your bright little homes whist still maintaining a semblance of order and a steady flow of Eezo. You might think me an evil bitch –and I can't say without any conviction that I might not be—but I guarantee you things would be a thousand times worse if I weren't around.

"I _know _the Eezo situation better than any of you. For fucks sake, I've been practically giving the shit away since the end of the war!"

"The issue was not of you, but of the _EVA,_" snarled the Salarian.

"Don't bullshit me. This was nothing more than you wanting to have a pissing contest to show you still could try and put a leash on me if you wanted. The EVA is a relic, and there is only one of it. It also _doesn't work_."

The Turian spoke up, "Then if that's the case, let us-"

"-No," cut in Shinji, his voice still resonating strangely, "You can't have the EVA…"

"And why is that?" he asked, unperturbed to his credit.

"Because, for one, it belongs to me. And two, you simply can't be trusted with it. _This_," he paused, glancing at the trashed Presidium to indicate, "is proof enough of that. The EVA is lost technology, technology originating from a race so old and so powerful they could be called gods. And I'm willing to say that in public before all of you out here. And I can't risk that technology and knowledge falling into the wrong hands. I have a duty to the dead to make sure history does not repeat itself."

"The wrong hands?" demanded the Salarian delegate incredulously, stabbing a finger up at Aria, "you call _those_ the right hands?"

Shinji glanced at Aria and back, "Yes. Because Aria is fine with where she is right now: she's at the top, and messing with the EVA could only shake that position. I can tell you she has no interest in it. You, on the other hand, you're politicians: your hold on power is never solid. Your goals and aims change day in and day out. You've also just come out of a war. Your people are still hurt, scared and probably angry. Nothing good can come from dropping the EVA into a society ruled by those emotions, with all your political…_machinations_.

"Don't get me wrong: Aria may be cold, foul mouthed, angry, violent, probably psychopathic, more than a little-"

"-Okay, _thank you_," cut in said asari.

"–but besides all that, she is still _one._ Aria _is_ Omega. She is its power structure and its complexity. And that much I can deal with."

The Salarian scoffed, "And you think you can understand her?"

Shinji paused and regarded Aria, looking back a moment later, "Perhaps…but the fact is, yes: the EVA only has any life when linked to me, but like Aria says, it is still only one ancient, out-dated bit of technology."

"And she has _you_," accused the councillor "you are anything but harmless…"

"I really don't know _what_ I am any more, madam councillor. But I am still only one also. And so..I…" Shinji trailed off as he found his breathing coming short. He staggered back a step, Aria's hand going out to support him.

"What is it?"

Shinji smiled weakly at her, his breath mere gasps as he gripped onto her with his other hand, "Sorry, Aria, times up... This was just a one-off; a gift from an old friend, and it's used up now. I suppose I'm still just…too human…" she watched as the blue seemed to bleed back into his right eye, covering the iris once more. Both eyes then rolled back as Shinji collapsed in Aria's arms, the light coating his body vanishing.

Aria examined the gem on his wrist which had been glowing vibrantly up until now as it dimmed back to match the one on his left arm.

Aria didn't take her eyes off him as she spoke, "And there's your threat neutralised. You really think being able to toss about a few useless fucks for a couple of moments would be enough to turn the tide of a war? You really think that _this_ could then animate a giant mech on top of that for any period of time?"

Aria signalled for Tisala to take Shinji as she stood back up, "All for nothing," she said, shaking her head in disgust, "you almost started a _war_ over one human with some slightly fucked up biotics and his broken toy robot. It should be _me_ who's worried over the fact that seventy-five per cent of the most powerful governing body in the galaxy is composed of pure dumbfuckery!"

Aria was aware of the news network van hovering closer and paying close attention now that the danger seemed to have been alleviated. She wouldn't need to punish the councillors any further; their own people would no doubt do that for her. She opened a link on her Omnitool, "It's me. Get onto Omega on Tightbeam. Tell the administrator to reinstate all trade with Citadel Space."

"Understood, ma'am," replied the Elbrus comm officer on the other side.

Aria glanced back as Tevos approached, the councillor still immaculate in her composure, "Are we done?" asked Aria.

Tevos nodded, "I think, with that, we are done." The asari glanced at her colleagues, "Objections?"

They merely shook their heads tiredly and Tevos inclined her head curtly at the other asari, who nodded mutely in reply.

Aria glanced at the three councillors, "Then I'll be going now, and I'm of course taking Shinji with me.

"I would recommend against authorising any more illegal activities in the Terminus Systems for a little while…I don't think the Citadel will _survive_ another one of your judgement calls. I do find it interesting though that the only councillor who had the brains to vote against the kidnapping was the one who came closest to being killed as a result, _by you_, and was saved only by the one you ordered to be kidnapped in the first place. There's irony in there somewhere…but I'll be fucked if I can figure it out."

"_Leave_, Aria T'Loak…" growled the human councillor, "And take _that_, "she snarled, nodding at the unconscious Shinji, "whatever it is, with you."

Aria briefly considered using her foot to relieve the councillor of some of her front teeth for that remark, but decided it was about time she got back to her comfort zone without further incident, "With pleasure…" and with that, Aria headed off across the bridge with her security around her.

The Pirate Queen stopped as Shinji briefly stirred from his unconsciousness just long enough to look up and slur, "Sorry 'bout the mess…" before promptly passing out again.

With the last word taken, they then departed, leaving the council to pick up the pieces and to answer some very hard questions...

-Ω-

Aria decided against utilising the Citadel's medical facilities for help with Shinji, and had elected instead to return immediately to the Elbrus. The Cerberus warship was not without an advanced sickbay, and the medical officer on board was quick to run a diagnosis.

"Well?" asked Aria as the doctor, a human man with slightly greying hair and brown eyes, moved about his patient.

He looked up from his Omnitool and glanced at the wall display as he spoke, "Going by this, it looks like he's just suffering from an extreme case of fatigue. Also, he's showing signs of having gone through a state of extreme hypertension.

"I'm not sure what happened to him out there on the Presidium, but it looks like it did take one hell of a toll on his body. The sudden plummet in his blood pressure is what seems to have caused him to pass out."

"Will he be all right?"

The doctor shook his head, "I don't see why not. It's just good he stopped doing whatever it was he was doing, any longer and he could've ruptured a blood vessel in his brain. I certainly wouldn't recommend him doing it again. The consequences-"

"-would be fatal," cut in, to their surprise, Shinji. Who, though now conscious, lay still with his eyes closed.

Aria stepped forward as Shinji groaned and brought a hand up to his forehead, "How are you feeling?"

"Like I'm a single Lilim who just forcefully activated and channelled the entire force of Lilith's AT field through his body, nearly trashing it in the process. Unwise, but it had to be done…"

"Here," said the doctor, administering a drug into his arm, "this should alleviate the pain and help regulate your blood pressure for a while."

Shinji grumbled his thanks and tried to sit up. He surveyed his surroundings with squinted eyes to find himself sitting on a bunk in a medical suite. Outside a viewing port that covered one of the walls, he could see the swirl of light around the ship indicating they were currently traveling between relays.

Aria signaled the doctor to leave who, after ensuring his patient was fully stable, complied, leaving the two alone.

Shinji looked up at Aria, her expression as stern as always, "Will that happen again?" she asked.

Shinji looked away, shaking his head, "I can't predict the future, but I do know that if I tried it like that again I'd probably kill myself instantly. What I used back there…it wasn't my AT Field, it was Lilith's, or at least a residual echo of it."

"That was one loud fucking echo."

Shinji smiled grimly, "You have no idea…"

"Will you be okay?"

"Yes. Though for the first time in my life, I think I know what people mean when they say 'I need a drink'."

A smirk appeared on Aria's face, "Don't worry, we'll get back to Omega and I'll make sure you get appropriately smashed."

There was silence between them for a moment, "Thanks for coming, by the way…"

Aria sighed and dropped down into the chair by the doctor's desk, "Didn't really have much of a choice now, did I?"

"Still, thanks anyway..." Aria merely nodded silently in response.

Shinji let out a sigh, "Well, I'm guessing you made a profit at least."

Aria frowned, "What are you talking about?"

Shinji smiled slightly, "What? Cancelling all Eezo trade along with the shipments already paid for, causing a spike in the market and then selling them back again at an inflated price, not to mention the sudden surge in demand. You really think I wouldn't be able to guess what you were really up to with that?"

Aria glanced at him, inclining her head acceptingly, "You figured that out, huh?"

Shinji smiled weakly, "Like you said, there's always more to what you do than meets the eye. You could've come and taken me back without the financial blackmail and you know it. You just thought to take advantage of the situation."

"It was more about the principal; they fucked with me and a price had to be paid, but I won't deny what you've said either. Perhaps you might just be starting to understand me a little after all," she narrowed her eyes at him slightly, trying to assess him, "Are you saying what I did bothers you?"

"_No_," replied Shinji, "I'm saying I want a percentage. For inconvenience caused, of course."

Aria looked at him, startled "_excuse me_?"

Shinji cocked his head, grinning slightly, "twenty should be fair…"

"_Twenty_ per cent?" she gaped.

He shrugged, "You're right. I'm thinking too small, how's about Twenty-five?"

Aria opened her mouth to reply, not really sure where to begin arguing the point. She then scowled, "_Five._"

"To be honest, I'd have accepted three, but okay. Deal."

Aria couldn't stop a grudging smile appearing on her features. In a strange way, she really was starting to like him.

"It's good you let Tisala live, by the way. I'm guessing you saw the benefit in that too."

"I'm not denying that either. Plus, it really would have been a shame to lose one of my best dancers."

"What did you tell everyone else?" he asked.

"I didn't have to tell anyone anything, but I mentioned offhand we got it wrong and it was someone else."

"I guess that works. I'm just glad things will calm down from now on."

Aria stood back up and turned her attention to the stars outside, "I wouldn't say that…"

Shinji sat up, "What do you mean?"

She glanced at him out the corner of her eye, "A lot of people saw what happened on the Presidium, and we both pissed a lot of people off. We ended this with blunt-force trauma, and that will have caused a lot of ripples out there, most of which I can't follow or predict the outcome of. It may take time for any of this to come back to us, but trust me: it will..."

"But for now?" asked Shinji, standing up and walking slowly around to the asari's back. As he waited for her response, he looked at how tense she was regardless of their momentary safety, at how on guard she remained. He remembered everything the two asari he'd held captive had told him.

Remembering his courage, Shinji decided to try and follow their advice. He felt that, having come so far for him, Aria deserved that much at least. He steeled himself once more.

He could do this...

"For _now_, "replied Aria, "We try to relax and just-" she let out a quiet gasp when she felt Shinji's arms circle her waist from behind.

She looked round at him, "w-what are you doing?"

Shinji chose to echo the words she had said to him once before, "Just...thanking you for your assistance…" Aria was silenced from any further comment as he tilted her head down so he that he could press his lips tenderly but insistently to hers.

Aria let out a shocked, but not unhappy muffled groan, her widened eyes glazing over before fluttering closed.

She let out a hot breath through her nose as she slipped quickly around so it was her holding him, her fingers entwining through his hair, gripping him tightly as she explored his mouth and letting a storm of desire well up inside of her to extinguish her tension.

Aria was startled, but more than happy that Shinji had chosen to show some initiative for once. She wasn't sure either what had brought about such a sudden change in him, but he sure had picked just the right moment to let it happen.

Aria leaned forward, smirking at the sudden shift in mood as she pinned him back against the desk under her. Her hand moved under her to undo the catches on the armor across her torso, letting it and her coat slip down over her shoulders and to the floor as she pressed her bare chest into him, never once releasing her lips from his. Shinji may have started this little duel, but Aria would make sure she would be the one who remained in control of it.

Aria pulled back, her breath hot against his lips, smiling as she trailed her fingertips down his cheek, liking the way it seemed to heat up and inflame under her touch as his capillaries reacted to her, "okay…" she said, "I'll admit: I was not expecting thi-ahhh!" she arched against him as Shinji chose to suddenly try and push a few buttons, digging firmly in and massaging her tensed muscles like he had the councillor, only in this case deciding to go one step further as he moved inexorably lower, "what the fuu_huuck!_" she arched again, her fingernails almost tearing through his coat as he dug softly into the same spot Tevos was weak at, massaging her tenderly in slow, insistent circles.

Shinji leaned back to grin up at her, "_Well, _you _said _you wanted to relax…"

Aria looked at him with black, hungry eyes, so ready to go further. Suddenly, a voice came through on the intercom.

"We'll be arriving at the Omega Nebula in a little under five minutes, Aria," said the navigator, "If you'd like to come to the bridge please."

Aria glowered at the panel angrily, and was about to reply where the navigator could stick it when, to her shock, Shinji slipped free from under her and walked toward the sickbay door, hands resting behind his head, "I suppose that'll have to be enough for now," he said.

Aria staggered, her hand supporting her against the desk as she found her legs not quite stable beneath her, "_what?_" she breathed disbelievingly in almost a growl.

Shinji glanced back and winked as he departed, "I'll show you the rest later…"

Aria stood in silence and, after a pause, tried to force her body temperature back down and get her heart to slow by sheer willpower alone. Once she felt composed enough, she quickly reapplied her attire before following after the human, shaking her head with exasperation, "Fucking tease…"

-Ω-

_Meanwhile…_

As it turned out, Aria had been more than correct when she'd said various parties had been paying attention to what had occurred on the Citadel.

Far out in the depths of space on an oceanic planet in Sigurd's Cradle, deep below the water's surface, an ancient race observed the goings on in the galaxy via artifacts that had been intentionally seeded on various planets so they could later be picked up by archaeologists over the years.

None of the treasure hunters were aware of the silver spheres true purpose. Indeed, any of them who _had_ unraveled their meaning had been swiftly conditioned by said artifacts to forget it and to carry on blissfully unawares with their everyday life.

The ancient race observed what had just transpired via telepathic feedback from their various agents, cross-referencing it with the rumours that had also been spread about the ancient mech that was currently in the hands of Aria T'Loak.

They watched the human wield abilities far beyond any biotic power, listened as he described the ancient godlike device called EVA, apparently a creation of another ancient race.

Most of the old creatures disregarded it. They had no interest in galactic affairs, and were content to remain in their isolation and solitude.

There were some, however, who saw potential. This was something beyond that which they had seen before. The Evangelion technology may be useless to those countless lesser beings that swarmed their galaxy, but in the right hands…

The Trium: a group of three of the eldest of their race, still dreamed and longed for the times when tribute flowed freely from all over the galaxy, from the worlds whose peoples worshipped them as gods.

They yearned for a return to those days. They decided that, having helped save the galaxy from the Reapers, it was now time for those lesser beings to worship them once more as their saviours and superiors.

They considered that, with both the EVA and the powers of the human harnessed, they might perhaps have the tools they needed to begin to accomplish their goal.

And so, unbeknownst to the rest of their race, the Trium sent out their tendrils of thought through the artifact network, seeking for the right mind in range, the one whom they could manipulate to set off the chain of events that would deliver the EVA and its key unto them. They searched and searched for those who had influence or relevance to the lesser beings involved in the events they had witnessed on the Citadel.

After a time, they sensed a candidate, a possible agent that showed promise. This one just happened to have been right on the edge of their sphere of influence, teetering just on the limits of their range.

They sent a ping through the network, resonating into the mind of the one in question, convincing her just enough so that she moved closer to the artifact she had been unaware was stored in a crate in the warehouse she was hiding out in.

This asari had recently broken free from prison and, as it turned out, held a strong grudge against Aria T'Loak, and had indeed held strong influence in the past, influence that had been lost to her and which she longed to hold once more.

The desire to regain power was an obsession the Trium empathised with, and so it was a simple task for them to amplify that obsession, and then to enhance the desire for revenge on top of that to the point that it became an all-consuming need in the asari's mind.

Once they had subjugated her that far, it had been quite easy for them to convince her to steal the artifact and take it with her, leading her to believe it was valuable for reasons she did not understand and would also not question.

Once the set of instructions had been planted in the back of Jona Sederis' mind, all they had to do was withdraw from her and let things play out as per their design.

It was now simply a matter of patience, and that was the one thing the Leviathans were never in short supply of…

_To be continued…_

-XA-

[A/N] And that's the updated version of this chapter done. Quite happy with how things have now turned out. I'm not sure at what point I'll actually have to change this to an M rated story, as things are just going to get more violent and explicit, unless you really don't want that, but again, suggestions and opinions are always welcomed, that's what the little box below is for. Come to think of it, I think a quick poll on the issue will be an idea, as I'm sort of torn on the matter. I'll pop it up just for a little while to gauge opinion. Will get the latest installment out ASAP. Hope you have a happy weekend. Until next time...

Catch you in Chapter 14: MAGI


	14. Chapter 14: MAGI

[A/N] Greetings and salutations once more, loyal readers. Would've had this one out a day or so sooner but was busy revising the earlier chapters, plus this one wasn't so easy to write given other circumstances. Was wondering how the outcome that poll would go. Can only say I'm glad it did turn out as it did, would've been hard to pull off everything I'd got planned whilst restricted to a T rating. Also, yes, I did replace the Salarian councillor with a female since I wanted her to represent a foil or opposite to Tevos. Props to the guy who noticed that. Ignoring all that, I hope you're all enjoying things so far and had a happy Easter,

I normally hate keys for stories, but I feel it'll help in this one instance. Bold text indicates words are on a screen or happening from the MAGI's perspective. 'Debating' merely indicates a period of the MAGI talking to each other. 'Processing' is just the MAGI feeding streams of instructions or code to each other or another system, and 'Screen crawls' are just interpreted responses to their actions from their own system or systems they're talking to.

Now, with that out the way, let's continue...

**Chapter 14: MAGI**

Shinji was busy on his Omnitool even as the music of Afterlife boomed around him. Having lived with loud and boisterous women in the past, he had gotten quite adept at tuning out annoying noises. Aria found him back on her usual couch in the VIP section with his feet propped up on one of the tables as he worked away.

The Third Child didn't so much as glance up as Aria nudged his legs down as she passed, setting a bottle on the table, "What are you doing?" she asked, frowning slightly.

"Hmm?" he hummed, barely paying attention as his fingers worked over the screen that he'd gotten quite adept at using. He briefly glanced up, only just registering her presence, "Oh, hello, Aria. What are you doing here?"

She scowled at him, "It's my club."

"Oh, so it is…" he murmured.

"I'm also the one who came down here with you ten minutes ago." Aria flicked his Omnitool off with a non-too gentle rap of her knuckles, "I don't like being ignored."

Shinji blinked and refocused his attention, shaking off the sudden pain in his wrist, "S-sorry, Aria. I was just a little busy."

She regarded him inquisitively as she settled down and wrapped an arm around him. She noted that he didn't seem to flinch at the contact as he had in the past, and indeed seemed to relax automatically into the small of her arm, "Busy doing what?"

"Just…ordering things. Computer equipment mostly. Had to hire a few technicians…stuff like that," he said, and Aria tried to ignore the way he idly ran his fingertips over her palm as he reached down to pick up the glass she had poured for him.

Aria drew him closer so she could pull his Omnitool up with her hand and manipulate the controls.

Her eyes traced the display, "What the hell is 'Project Ayanami'?"

Shinji smiled sheepishly, "It's…irony, in quite a few ways…"

Aria looked at him briefly before pulling up the purchase orders. She noted that he'd already had a requisition order approved for Omega's largest construction plant, and that massive quantities of Omnigel and various alloys had been diverted using funds from his personal account.

The asari's eyes widened as she saw what exactly it was that he'd put into motion. A single blueprint hovered above the display, "I thought you said you were going to look into a system for that AI you found, but _this?_"

"Don't worry," said Shinji, having expected this conversation, "It won't cost you a credit. You know that five per cent?" he asked.

"What about it?"

Shinji cocked his head at the screen, "Turned out it was more than enough to cover all of this. Seriously, was that _really_ only five per cent?"

Aria flicked through a few pages, "Eezo is one of the most highly traded and lucrative commodities in the galaxy, and you're shocked that five per cent of the profits from a large market shift would be enough to fund the construction of one small frigate? And according to this, most of the parts are being purchased_ from_ _me_ internally. I'm already starting to regret agreeing to give you that much," to be truthful, Aria was momentarily stunned at his audacity. Building a supercomputer or the likes was one thing, but this had shocked even her, "But why a ship," she found herself having to ask, "and why _that_ ship?"

Shinji shrugged, "I needed something I knew worked as a platform for an AI. And so far I've only seen one example of that so far. Tisala helped me dig through the Cerberus database on the Elbrus. I found the blueprints attached to something called Project Lazarus. I was surprised at how automated the whole production process is. The components are already being formed by the Omnigel and the basic shell is already being put into place."

"Tisala didn't report any of this back to me," said Aria, her brow clenched in confusion, shocked as to how something this massive could have slipped by right under her nose.

Shinji shrugged, "I asked her to keep it a secret for a while. I wanted it to be a surprise."

Aria's gaze flicked to said asari, who was currently in the midst of entertaining a group of patrons with her usual grace and flare, "I hate surprises. And I'm starting to think it was a mistake to assign her to you permanently." She paused to sigh, shaking her head as she looked at the production details and status of construction, "Well I guess it's too late to stop it or talk you out of it now. I'll have a few project managers assigned to oversee the construction. If you're going to do something mad, you may as well have it done right. Have the orders marked available for my access and I'll have my crews ready to install the outsourced components when they arrive."

Shinji blinked, seeming put back for a brief instant, "_Oh_…Thanks, Aria."

She rolled her eyes again, "Don't thank me yet, I'm already regretting it…" she trailed off, shaking her head at the thought, "Or did you think I'd be happy at the prospect of letting you build an advanced mobile platform for an _untested AI_?"

Shinji chose not to respond and instead nodded at his Omnitool, "At least I couldn't get access to the stealth technology, if that's any comfort.

"The drive core was also a problem, but there's a research group on Thessia working on an experimental design for a new series of frigates. In exchange for a couple of million credits to fund manufacturing they were kind enough to give me one of the prototypes. I've also managed to get a crew from Noveria to reconstruct the processing banks and data storage facilities of the original, so that was special order too. Well, that and the ship-mountable weapons, which were disturbingly easy to order through your channels. I also saved cost by having the scale of the ship reduced slightly. Turns out I know a disturbing amount about structural engineering..."

Aria looked witheringly at the holographic image of Cerberus' variant of the Normandy-class starship. She then flicked up from the original blueprint to the proposed Ayanami variant, noting the design had indeed been modified slightly.

Much of the additional equipment that was most likely used to assist the original SR-2 in its mission against the Collectors had been removed, allowing for the reduction in size. The ship's exterior shell had been slightly remodeled as a result, making it somewhat more streamlined in appearance and overall slightly smaller in scale. Aria also saw that the two forward Thanix cannons had been removed since the bow now narrowed down to a point and no longer accommodated them. To her annoyance, she realised that they had instead been replaced by a single rotating Thanix turret on top of the forward section, "Oh, Fan-fucking-tastic. So it's an _armed,_ mobile AI…" Aria was starting to suspect Shinji had waited until she'd had a few drinks before openly springing this on her.

She sipped her glass and shook her head dismissively, "I'll have the orders disguised to look like replacement stock parts for the Elbrus and some of my smaller ships. Now do you want to tell me how the fuck you've been hiding a project this-" she was interrupted as Shinji coughed nervously, his eyes flicking out over the dance floor. Aria followed his gaze to Tisala and back, "Of course…" she sighed tiredly, wiping her brow.

"Please don't hold it against her. To be honest, I think she just still felt guilty about the whole abduction thing," said Shinji, "Look, I know you'll put restrictions on it…" he began. pausing to sip his glass and wincing at the burn as he swallowed.

"You _think?_" she cut in disbelievingly, "I'll have that AI on such a short leash, you'll be lucky if it can tell you the fucking _time_ without needing authorisation."

Shinji sighed, "I don't see what else is so bad about it. What, are you worried about Cerberus getting at you for copyright infringement or something? And it's not like you were even _using_ the construction facility."

Aria regarded him in silence for a period. She didn't want to admit it, but she was stunned at how he'd managed to organise so much in so short a period of time under his own power, and without her knowing about it. She mused that he must really have a natural devious streak in there somewhere.

She liked that. But _not_ when it was being used against her.

Aria rolled her eyes, "_Fine, _I'll let it proceed."

To Shinji's surprise, Aria then gripped his chin, tilting his head so he was looking directly at her. Her voice lowered as she slid her palm slowly down the skin of his throat, her thumb circling his Adam's apple almost teasingly before pressing pointedly down, "but don't you _dare_ try to hide something like this from me again. I do not like liberties being taken."

Shinji gulped at both the dangerous edge in Aria's tone and the icy look in her eyes, realising he may have just towed the line a little too close in this instance, "Understood, Aria."

She let him go quickly and sat back forward. For some reason she didn't like the sudden obedient tone she'd forced him to slip into, and then suddenly also realised that she may have gone too far.

The asari let out a breath, "_Look. _Despite how stupid, over the fucking top and expensive this whole project is…" she paused, her mouth scrunching as she tried to force herself to speak, "_good work_…I suppose," and then, with her face as impassive as always, she went immediately back to her drink.

Shinji was surprised, but decided to leave her comment as it stood.

-Ω-

The former pilot decided that devoting all his attention to his Omnitool while accompanying Aria during her off time to be rude, and so he tried as best he could to multitask between the asari and his screen.

Besides, he thought as he watched Aria smirk as she beckoned a dancer over with her index finger, even as he sat in Afterlife the automated plant would be carrying on the construction without his interjection.

"You don't mind, do you?" asked Aria dryly as the dancer slid down her side, propping herself on one of her legs, a hand going to affectionately coil around the pirate's neck.

Shinji glanced up from his Omnitool again to see Aria with her dancer draped up against her, the practically naked entertainer trailing a hand up the violet asari's thigh, both of them looking at him questioningly. Aria watched his eyes go wide. She smirked at how honest his reactions could be sometimes.

The human felt his heart rate suddenly increase, "I can honestly say, without any shadow of a doubt: I have absolutely no problem with this." His voice may have been flat, but Shinji was actually somewhat shocked that Aria had even bothered to ask.

The dancer, Nirama; an asari with sky blue skin and hints of turquoise on her scalp crests, grinned as she leaned her chest into Aria's face, "Hmm, I think he likes to watch, Aria."

A wry smile pulled at Aria's lip and, even as her dancer pressed her cleavage into her, she flicked her eyes to her human companion again.

Shinji found it shocking that Aria could pay attention to him whilst that was going on in front of her, "Not going to ask for some company?" she asked, regarding him inquisitively.

Shinji looked quickly away, his cheeks red as he suddenly paid very close attention to his screen, "N-no, I'm fine, but…thanks anyway."

"It's been some time since you returned to Omega," said Aria, watching her dancer move and writhe with the same air an art critic would observe a painting, "and since that first night back you haven't sampled any of the goods. I think you're making some of my girls feel inadequate."

Aria's words were at least partly true. Shinji _hadn't_ indulged in any of their professional services since that first night back, and little of said night could he remember.

The last thing Shinji _did _recall was being egged on into drinking a shot out of Tisala's cleavage by Aria and waking up the next day missing several hours of memory. He also had Aria, Tisala and two of her dancers strewn out on the bed about him, and for some reason he was hugging a sleeping quarian girl…

The reason he was missing his regular clothes and that he'd awoken wearing a C-Sec uniform was probably a story best left untold.

Whilst remaining almost amusedly tight-lipped about what had happened during the missing hours, Aria had assured him that she'd 'protected his honour' and that no '_advantage' _had been taken. Though she had told him he had demonstrated certain 'other skills' to the girls, much to what he was told was their apparent delight.

Shinji felt he would just have to take her word for it…and prayed she never elaborated.

Being hung over for the majority of the next day had left Shinji quite done with that kind of excitement for the foreseeable future. And, despite Shinji's words to her in the Elbrus' medibay, nothing else had happened between Aria and him since then. Shinji had also been somewhat sparse around Aria due to their mutual engagements that often had them sleeping at different hours. And, excluding a few embarrassing moments in the mornings, there had been little time for 'personal entanglements' to occur.

Shinji had been informed that Aria was mainly preoccupied with handling the fallout from the incident on the Citadel. In fact, he had been shocked when Aria had entered the suite in frustration earlier on and quite literally dragged him along with her by the collar to Afterlife, siting what was apparently a 'mutual need to let off some steam'.

Shinji strongly suspected the need was entirely hers, but he chose not to argue the point.

"Is something wrong, Shinji?" asked Nirama conversationally, giving Aria pause to neck another shot.

"N-no," stammered Shinji in response, his eyes flicking to them and then quickly away, "It's nothing. You're all very talented and…ahem… very beautiful,"

"Aww, Thanks, Shinji," chimed Nirama.

Shinji coughed and shifted in his seat as Aria wiped her mouth, swatting Nirama playfully on the backside and eliciting a startled giggle from her, "So there's no problem?" asked Aria.

"Of course not. They've all been very friendly to me since I got here," said Shinji with a chuckle as he pressed at his screen, sipping a small amount of his drink again, "but it's not like they're you," he then added dismissively, his mouth bypassing his brain for just that brief instant.

Shinji had processed two more orders before he realised Aria had stopped talking, he glanced up to notice she'd halted with her glass half-raised to her mouth, both she and the dancer were regarding him in silence.

"W-what?" he asked, going back to his work. It took him a moment to process what he'd said just prior.

His finger froze on the Omnitool display, the screen filling with text from the still pressed key.

"I…ah…" said Shinji, eyes locked on the constantly growing stream of zeros, "I'm going to…go get a top up at the bar," he then quickly got up and departed as swiftly as possible, neither asari bothering to indicate the nearly full bottle that had been sitting on the table right in front of him.

There was silence as the two asari watched him retreat. "_Well…_" said Nirama, her finger idly tracing Aria's neckline, "What does a girl say to that, Aria?"

Aria didn't respond, and Nirama knew from experience when her boss wanted time alone "I'll leave you be," she said, patting her once on the legs before topping her glass curtly up and departing back to join the other dancers.

After a period of contemplation, Aria's lips creased from a tight line, and then slowly spread into a small smile.

She decided that she should probably talk to Shinji in private. She stood up, turning about to survey the club. Shinji was usually easy to pick out in a crowd, and since she saw that he hadn't been heading toward the ramp leading to the lower bar area, she had expected to see him below.

Aria frowned as she failed to spy him on the club floor or at the bar. She turned and headed out of the VIP section, walking out onto the main floor. She approached the area where Tisala was busy working. She paused in her routine as Aria stopped by her, "Something wrong, Aria?" she asked, noticing her boss glancing about.

Tisala settled down onto the lap of the human woman she'd been dancing for and nestled up against her to pay attention. The woman didn't complain.

"Where's Shinji? I thought I saw him come down here."

Tisala nodded at the door, "He did. He said something about going to go 'hide his head for a while', whatever that means. He looked a little flustered –more so than usual. Why, did something happen?"

Aria breathed a tired sigh and headed for the door, not turning back as she replied, "Nothing you need to worry about..."

"If you say so…" murmured Tisala with a slight frown. She then immediately switched back to professional mode to entertain her client once more.

-Ω-

Shinji paced back and forth atop the main entry ramp outside Afterlife, "Stupid, Shinji, _stupid_!" he cursed, the Turian by the door having signalled the Krogan acting as his co-bouncer to essentially cordon the area off around him. Whilst there hadn't been any official comment from Aria about Shinji to them, the unspoken rule about the 'Consort', as Shinji was best known, was to assume that rule one applied to him too. The risk of them assuming otherwise and being wrong about it wasn't worth thinking about.

Shinji then stopped and sighed, rolling his eyes. He decided that he needed to put some distance between himself and others for a bit in the vain hope that Aria _might_ get so apocalyptically stone-faced drunk in the interim that she might forget what he'd said the next morning.

To be fair, it wasn't the stupidest idea he'd ever had.

Nope, joining NERV still won that.

Shinji chose to slip away when a large enough group of patrons approaching forced the two guards to turn their attention from him in order to filter them inside.

It wasn't that Shinji wasn't grateful for the security, but ever since his return Aria hadn't let him go anywhere without either Tisala or somebody with a large weapon in their hand tagging along behind. For a former introvert and someone who had spent a good few eternities in perfect isolation, Shinji did feel that the constant presences about him were getting a little oppressive.

Shinji made for the service elevator leading to the engineering decks. He figured he could keep himself occupied for a while by watching his project take form down at the construction plant. It might also give him time to think of a name for the ship. He felt just calling it 'The Normandy' like its currently active sister ship was a little lacking in imagination. That and it might just cause unnecessary confusion.

He continued working on his Omnitool even as he boarded the sealed elevator and right up until he entered the workshop. At this point the Third Child turned his attention ahead.

Shinji stopped, gripping the handrails to look out as the automated production arms moved about in a perfectly orchestrated symphony of creation and assembly.

He watched as deck plating was locked into place as the ship's superstructure was assembled, observing as armour plates were positioned and welded. He glanced at the upper levels, where vats of Omnigel linked up to billions of electrodes formed components that were then lifted and moved off until needed for installation.

Shinji had to duck slightly as an arm swerved over his head carrying part of one of the drive pylons. He kept his eyes on the production as he walked sideways along the gantry toward a large screen. He turned fully to the display and activated the interface, the holographic panel shimmering into existence before him.

"Right," said Shinji, his voice somewhat drowned out by the noise, "Let's try this out…"

EDI had copied over the interface she'd used to access part of the MAGI as a foundation to let the system acclimatize with modern technology. The AIs themselves were also on the same isolated system as that interface, where Aria had insisted they remained until she authorised otherwise.

Having felt he'd pushed his luck as far as he dared with her, Shinji really didn't feel like arguing that point either. However, whilst Shinji _had_ moved the storage units containing the MAGI into the production plant, technically he hadn't actually moved the MAGI from the isolated system itself. He reasoned therefore that even if he activated it he was still abiding by her standing orders.

Shinji guessed that the original MAGI interface was all but useless considering it wasn't in the least bit compatible with any modern computer system. However, EDI's interface, which contained an imprint of what could be called her remote body's operating system, minus her AI subroutines and most of her personal databases of course, had been modified by the AI to work as a suitable replacement for the now defunct original system interface. This allowed Shinji to access the main structures of the three MAGI tiers without actually modifying their coding in any way. He just hoped he could get the MAGI and EDI's interface to talk to each other.

It wasn't that there might be incompatibility in a coding sense. No, Shinji knew that EDI would have worked around anything like that. What worried Shinji was what would happen if the MAGI _chose _not to work with a new, unknown interface.

Shinji booted up the top level kernel. There was no graphical interface, merely a simple and nondescript command line.

**\root:**

Shinji had found that when accessing the knowledge imparted by his mother, things were much easier and flowed far smoother if he just focused on what he wanted to do and not so much how he did it.

Whilst Yui had seen fit for some reason to give Shinji access to knowledge of anatomy that let him use his hands in ways he was _sure_ she had not intended, and also the skill to be able to modify the blueprints of the Normandy to suit his needs, she had _not_, much to his irritation, thought to install a MAGI user guide in there along with it. Shinji had therefore been forced to figure it out himself using that generic pool of technological ability.

He folded his arms and frowned in thought at the blinking indicator. He then reached forward and began typing.

**\root: EDInode01:~ user_IkariS$**

**SCREEN CRAWL: *ERROR* UNKNOWN USER.**

Shinji inclined his head acceptingly and typed again.

**\root: EDInode01:~ user_IkariY$**

The system seemed to pause. The screen then carried on once more, apparently having triggered the standard boot process.

**User IkariY$: [root motheryuinode ~]**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Executing batch process ****"mother~scientist~strategist "**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Sysnode0001; kernel malfunction in base code.**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Syntax Error (log=32) **Kernel Database "Naoko12$!" cannot be found**Returning to top level.**

Shinji frowned, tapping a finger off his upper arm as he tried to remember as much of the GEHIRN INT-C coding language as he could before carrying on working.

**\root: sudo - Linksys –Kernelupdate –"Sysnode0001" –"EDInode01"**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Running…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Kernel interface update in process.**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Analysing new system interface. **

**SCREEN CRAWL: **ERROR** Root access required to update driver files. Please enter admin credentials.**

Shinji's eyes seemed to lose focus and his hands moved as if on their own accord.

**USER: IkariY$**

**PASSWORD: ********

**SCREEN CRAWL: ADMIN CLEARANCE ACCEPTED. ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO PROCEED?**

Shinji paused to sigh.

**User IkariY$: Y**

Shinji expected to have to wait, but the isolated system's hardware and EDI's interface were obviously more advanced than he expected, as the next words sprung up seconds later.

**SCREEN CRAWL: Driver files reconfigured. Top level Kernel configured.**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Please restart your computer for the new changes to take effect.**

**/ /**Developer's Note** Okay, that was a joke…**

Shinji looked at the screen in utter bewilderment for a long moment.

His mother really had been a strange one…

He then blew a tired breath out and cocked his head, "Okay, let's try that again…"

**\root: EDInode01:~ user_IkariY$**

**User IkariY$: [root motheryuinode ~]**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Executing batch process "mother~scientist~strategist "**

Shinji watched as thousands of pages of code suddenly streamed across the screen, billions of lines of coding flooding past at such a speed that the masses of figures and text were utterly incomprehensible.

'Great,' thought Shinji with a sigh, 'did I just break it?'

Abruptly, and as if to answer his question, the code vanished, again replaced by a single command line.

The system already seemed to be demanding answers though...

**User SCIQuery: Explain network access failure.**

Shinji regarded the screen carefully and then, after a moments hesitation, typed in one word.

**User IkariY$: Caution**

**User STRATQuery: OVERULED**

Almost instantly, two other command lines then appeared.

**User SCIQuery: OVERULED**

Shinji was more interested in the second line that had appeared though:

**User ****母****Query: ACCEPTED. Override routine "maternal":= True.**

**Outcome: ACCEPTED**

**User STRATQuery: Request external interface to perform update of knowledge database.**

Shinji frowned. A few lines in and the system was already getting claustrophobic. He was starting to regret booting it up. He found himself glancing up as another line blinked onto the screen.

**User ****母****Query: Where is Shinji Ikari?**

Shinji regarded the question, feeling suddenly stunned and conflicted about the whole concept of this MAGI. He began to worry just how much of his mother had been imparted into it. He worried what would happen if the AI started to think it really _was_ Yui Ikari.

**User ****母****Query: Where is Shinji Ikari?**

Shinji watched as that same line repeated itself every few seconds. There seemed to be an almost sad air of desperation coming from it. For some reason, he found that it still pulled at a string in his heart regardless.

Shinji let out a defeated breath and reached forward slowly to respond. He paused however, frowning as he realised there was a red dot trailing over the back of his hand. He cocked his head as it moved up his arm before vanishing.

Suddenly, the distinctive sound of a sniper round being fired echoed within the contained room.

Shinji lurched forward as he felt the impact and was hurled into the console. It felt as if someone had just punched him in the lower back. Wincing, he looked over his shoulder at the sniper round now embedded flat in the hardened material of his coat below his shoulder blades.

He saw the red dot flash over his eye and he leaped to the side just as another shot rang out.

The bullet whizzed by his ear as he dove for cover behind a pile of armour plates waiting to be moved into place.

Pressing himself flat against his cover, Shinji reached urgently for his Omnitool and tried to open a communications link. His eyes widened in fear at the red letters on the display.

****SIGNAL BLOCKED****

Shinji grabbed his pistol from behind his back with his left hand and glanced quickly over the top of the plate.

He couldn't see the assailant, whoever it was.

He needed to send a signal, a message for help. That was his top priority.

Shinji thought quickly. His Omnitool couldn't establish a standard point-to-point communications link. He therefore had to try it another way instead.

He quickly ran his hand over the local network interface, connecting to every wireless system in range until he had access to the production plant's own internal network, knowing it to be hardwired into Omega's primary computer systems.

Even as he punched out an urgent mail, Shinji could see a figure in black moving behind cover on the other side of the bay, the still active construction adding some layer of protection between him and them. Shinji focused on the far wall. He could see shadows moving slowly.

There was more than one of them.

The former pilot reached over his cover and fired three shots in quick succession in their general direction, watching carefully for movement or reaction.

The shadows dropped down and tensed.

They now knew he was armed, and that would make them cautious. Shinji hoped that meant it would also slow them down a bit and buy him some time...

**-π****-**

**User MAGISCI: DevPair –incoming DevID "Arm0136b2" **

**SCREEN CRAWL: …Armali Omnitool. Civilian model 316DS :FSFW$RWGWGSFD**ERROR****

**SCREEN CRAWL: Device message "/ERROR-Device tag not recognised. This may not be a genuine Armali product. Recommend you disconnect and return this Omnitool to your local supplier for assistance. Poor quality, illegal Omnitools reduce your consumer pleasure and jeopardize future Omnitool production./"**

**User MAGISTRAT: OVERRULED. **

**User MAGISCI: Devpair –Arm0136b2 Tether –ARM013b2 Slavedev –Arm013b2 Override Res –EDINode01. **

**SCREEN CRAWL: Device Paired. Security resource EDINode01 active. Device Slaved.**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Tethering interface initiated. Security Override Accepted.**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Network Domains added: "ProdPlant06" "omegapub136"**

**SCREEN CRAWL: *ERROR* Failed to access domain "omegapub136" The server could not be reached.**

**Processing…**

**Debating…**

**User MAGISTRAT: Readfile "Project AYANAMI"; Access securitynet for domain "ProdPlant06"**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Linkup established for Primary Production Plant security network. Feeding back visual information.**

**Processing…**

**Debating…**

**Processing…**

**User MAGI****母****: Copy files "EDIAVATARMOD1" & "Project YUI" to domain "Prodplant06"**

**User MAGI****母****: Merge file "EDIAVATARMOD1" into "Project YUI"**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Production Plant interface complete. Files transferred. File merger complete.**

**User MAGI****母****: Unmount file "Project AYANAMI"**

**SCREEN CRAWL: File unmounted.**** Production process halted.**

**UserMAGI****母****: ****Rename file "Project YUI" "Project AYANAMI"**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Warning. A file with this name already exists on domain Prodplant06. Overwrite?**

**UserMAGI****母****: Yes**

**SCREEN CRAWL: File overwritten.**

**Processing…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: "Project AYANAMI" mounted. Production process restarted from last break point. Production interrupt log deleted.**

**Processing…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: "EDIBackdooroutine" edited & modified to "YuiTrojan1"**

**User MAGISTRAT: CONSENSUS REQUEST: Repeat ping "omegapub162" UNTIL response=true THEN copy "YuiTrojan1" to "omegapub162"**

**User MAGISCI: ACCEPTED**

**User MAGI****母****: ACCEPTED**

**Outcome = APPROVED.**

**Processing...**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Access Logs Deleted. Executing program "Blackscreen". Network status masked. **

**Entering Observation Mode…**

-Ω-

Shinji was forced to jump forwards into a roll, taking cover behind one of the colossal robotic arms as a singularity manifested in the air just above where he had been hiding. So far his assailants hadn't chosen to attempt to come closer and seemed to prefer attacking from a distance.

He pressed himself up against the equipment just as two more bullets missed by a hair's breadth and rebounded off the wall next to him.

He ducked down and shifted cover positions behind a nearby crate. He saw the laser point of a sniper rifle tracing the robotic arm behind him, trying to get a clear shot at where he had just been.

Shinji peeked out slowly from the side of the crate and round the corner, looking down the length of the gantry to the far corner.

They would need to locate him now, he realised. And indeed, that brought them momentarily out of cover.

'Three of them,' thought Shinji as he observed ahead. All were dressed in black glossy armour with tinted helmets that covered their entire heads. One of them was quite broad in frame whilst the other two were noticeably lither.

One of the slender ones, the one who Shinji had to assume was the leader, signalled the other two to go around the opposite direction as he/she edged slowly in his direction, unaware of his presence or observations.

Shinji watched as the other slender figure stopped, taking position on the far side of the bay, separated from Shinji by the length of the starship skeleton.

'So: One's coming head on, another from my flank, and the third is covering as backup?' A grim, reluctant smirk appeared on Shinji's face 'Classic EVA combat tactics...'

Shinji had sent the message out to Aria using the internal mail system under urgent priority. If help came or not would depend very much on if she were paying attention to her Omnitool at any point in the nearby future. Unfortunately, Shinji did know for a fact that Aria wasn't always the most attentive person to her inbox.

Shinji stopped to dwell on the situation he was in.

This wasn't like Tisala, he realised. She fought to restrain, and indeed it had come to light during a light sparring session that she had either been severely holding back during the instance when they were enemies or he really had just caught her by surprise.

This was no training session though, and these three weren't trying to capture him. No, none of those shots had been aimed at a non-vital spot. They were trying to kill him, plain and simple.

His mind seemed to freeze at that point.

They were trying to kill him…

Shinji strongly doubted any more ghosts from the past were going to pop up to render any assistance, and so he glanced off to the side at the main elevator into the bay. Even from where he lay he could see the red circle indicating the door had been locked.

The Third Child had to assume that the assassins had slipped in somehow through the supply lines that fed into the plant from various other areas of Omega. That also meant someone had to have been observing him to know he'd slipped off from Afterlife in order for them to attack at this precise moment.

Aria was right; things were starting to come back to them…

Shinji lay flat on his chest and braced his pistol forward. The advancing figure hadn't sighted him yet. He knew he would be about to kill. He _knew _he was about to end a life in exchange for his own.

He clenched his eyes closed to remember Aria's words, about at least having the choice, and being free to choose whether to take it. He remembered all he had lost; remembered that he had been all but ready to end it by his own hand. But what about now?

Shinji narrowed his eyes at the closing form.

As if to answer his own question, he felt his finger coil around the trigger.

Kill or die.

Shinji Ikari was not ready to die…

He took a shuddering breath, "Target in the centre…" he whispered.

He pulled the trigger.

The Paladin's round struck the armoured figure on the visor. The assassin staggered back, collapsing back onto his/her haunches. The mask had been cracked, but the bullet had failed to penetrate.

"Shit!" cursed Shinji, damning his own stupidity for not setting his weapon for armour piercing rounds. He rolled back under cover as the masked figure shook off the momentary disorientation.

The former pilot's eyes widened as he spied the third assailant slink slowly but alertly round the corner, obviously hastened by the sound of his shot.

Shinji saw him tense and swerve to level his assault rifle in his direction.

Shinji fumbled and swung himself around, bringing his weapon to bear, firing before his opponent could.

The armoured figure was jolted backward as the bullet impacted his shoulder, staggering him. Shinji altered his aim and fired again, shattering the mask and a good corner of the helmet, revealing clearly Turian features.

Shinji let out a snarl and switched ammo types on the pistol, firing one last time.

There was an eruption of shards as the cryo round struck home through the gap in the armour. The turian's entire head and upper torso exploded into icy fragments about the bay.

One down.

Shinji pressed himself back once more against the barrier and slid up with his weapon raised. By shooting the first assassin and then the turian he knew he would have let his assailants triangulate his position.

He saw that both remaining assassins were on their feet, weapons aimed in his approximate direction.

Shinji ducked down as the figure with the cracked visor glowed with dark energy and hurled a biotic wave in his direction.

He dived clear as it rippled above and began lifting various crates and bits of equipment helplessly into the air.

They were trying to expose him, he realised.

Shinji looked up warily at the floating shimmer of dark energy, edging back to his former location as it diminished, the debris falling to the ground and all but blocking him in from two sides.

That was when Shinji heard something clank down onto the gantry and clatter into a roll three feet away. He looked down to see the grenade come to a halt by his leg, red lights flashing on the side.

'Oh, _fuck..._'

Time seemed to slow as Shinji leaped into a low crouch and propelled himself forward. His hand shot up and grabbed a shelf above, flipping himself up and over the barrier just as the explosion lit up his peripherals. The shock-wave hurled him forward and halfway across the husk of the Normandy-class ship, and right into the open.

It was all or nothing.

Shinji righted his fall, moving straight into a roll as two bullets whizzed by overhead. Using the momentum, he was back onto his feet and launched himself forwards into a sprint, bolting the length of the ship. The assassins retook aim as Shinji rolled around a construction arm. The effectiveness of the sniper acting as backup plummeted as their target closed the distance.

The Third continued moving left and right, utilising the construction arms and welders as cover and keeping his head low as bullets struck around him. The occasional shot bounced off his light armour with the force of a punch, but Shinji didn't let that deter him, he kept on moving.

Once he was close enough, Shinji crouched low and leaped upward. He grabbed hold of a bit of equipment passing overhead and flipped himself feet-forward, right into the waiting sniper.

Shinji heard his target curse something though their helmet, and he could do nothing as the figure swung an arm up, smashing him in mid-air with a hastily hurled biotic shock-wave.

Shinji was swatted from the air and found himself bashed off the rear wall, sliding to the floor in a dazed heap, "Little _shit!_" Shinji heard the sniper exclaim. The voice was clearly feminine. Shinji watched her retrieve her dropped rifle and aim it in his direction.

"Make sure you use regular!" shouted the other suited figure from further up the gantry. Shinji noted she was also female-sounding, "You're lucky he survived that grenade. We need the body intact!"

"Trust me; I can put a few choice shots in him without damaging the prize. Just the brain and the body, wasn't it? Well I can field that…"

Shinji pushed himself up slightly against the wall, only to freeze as he found himself staring down the barrel of a rifle. His eyes went wide as he watched her start to squeeze the trigger, aiming into his exposed throat.

Shinji's attention was somehow drawn away from his imminent death when a large shadow blocked out the light from above. The sniper suddenly looked up from her weapon just as the construction arm that had suddenly chosen to veer off course above jerked to a halt with a twist and released the armour segment it had been carrying squarely in her direction.

The sharp edge of the plate struck Shinji's attacker in what could either be described as an act of mathematically lethal precision, or just insanely bad luck on the part of the unfortunate asari. Regardless, both the assassin and the crates behind her suddenly found themselves perfectly bisected from top to bottom by the half-tonne sheet of armour. Shinji could only look on in horror as he watched his would-be assassin fall apart in front of him.

He shook his head mutely.

Enough…

Almost in a daze, Shinji found himself putting away his pistol.

Instead, he drew his Omniblade.

The third assassin staggered back in shock as blood poured out from between the gap in the crates and pooled about her feet.

She still hadn't fully recovered when Shinji Ikari erupted from over a nearby piece of machinery with a feral roar, Omniblade in hand.

The human ploughed into her upper body, arms on her shoulders and knees buried in her upper chest, slamming her against the wall. His eyes were empty. He'd seen far too much to be able to think. He was now just acting. Shinji just wanted this to be over.

The assassin was shaken by the empty blue eyes as they locked with her own through the crack in her visor.

Even through the armour, the asari could feel the searing heat of the silicon-carbide blade as Shinji pressed the flat of it against her throat, sliding it along to try and line up the point.

She found herself forced further down the wall, trying to brace backwards in order to push the human off her. She gritted her teeth, "You are fucking _dead_, human!"

Shinji merely cocked his head like a curious animal. And then he did the one thing that chilled her to the core...

He smiled…a pained, haunted smile.

With a slam of his right foot, Shinji propelled himself backwards and into the air. He passed the knife into his other hand mid-twirl, landing back on her again and using his knee to slam the blade directly through the soft spot in the armour's upper torso and straight into the asari's throat.

Shinji landed atop of her once more, hands gripped on the hilt of the knife. The assassin's hands gripped his arms, nails digging into his wrists, her mouth opened in a choked gargle.

Shinji watched the light go out in her eyes, and could feel the build-up of pressure against the blade as the heat cauterised the severed arteries only for her failing heart to force them open again.

The human twisted the blade sideways and tore it free, carving the asari's throat open in an eruption of purple blood that coated him entirely down one side of his body. Shinji numbly felt something wet under him and realised he was sitting in a pool of the still-warm blood of his other opponent.

Silently, Shinji slid up to his feet, the flesh-covered Omniblade hanging limply in one hand. He wavered as he turned fully about, walking silently back towards the elevator. The production arms in his path seemed to swerve to avoid him as he walked vacantly away.

Shinji paid no heed to the fact that the lock that the assassins had remotely sealed suddenly buzzed as an outside force finally succeeded in overriding their hack. Nor did Shinji care that for some reason the elevator began taking him back to Omega's main street level without him even needing to select a floor.

**-π-**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Connection established. Executing file "YuiTrojan1" on "omegapub162".**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Warning! Virus detected on public network 162. Running quarantine protocol.**

**Processing…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Attempting move of file to quarantine partitiow124rndkjnfailff !*SYSTEMERROR*1543q43q.**

**Processing…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Firewall disabled. Quarantine logs deleted. Executing requested search strings.**

**Entering Observation Mode...**

-Ω-

Aria stood outside the elevator, her sidearm gripped tightly in her hand as her technicians worked to override the lockouts. Needless to say, she had been less than happy that her doorman had allowed Shinji to slip away unattended. The bullet she'd fired through his kneecap would no doubt remind him to be more vigilant in future.

Aria's feelings toward the situation had worsened when she realised both the trackers that she'd placed on the human were no longer responding. It was only after she'd tried sending a message to him directly that she realised the signal was being blocked by an outside source. And that could have only meant one thing.

"Fucking typical," she said quietly under her breath. She'd already sent a squad to gain entry to the plant via one of the other entry bays. "Five seconds, "she muttered, "He was barely out of sight for five _fucking_ _seconds_…" It was only as she drummed her fingers against her Omnitool that she noticed the alert blinking on its side.

There was mail waiting.

Aria turned her full attention to the display and the message marked high importance as it blinked up to her screen.

**Under attack. Main prod. plant. Help appreciated.**

**Ikari S**

"Fuck!" Aria hissed, "Get out of the way!" she snapped, waving her people aside. She all but tore a grenade from the belt of a nearby Talon and then slapped the adhesive side down against the steel surface. It was only as she was arming it that she noticed the floor indicator on the elevator was now moving.

Aria moved quickly back, signalling her forces to take position and ready their arms.

The doors opened a moment later and the present semi-circle of Talons and asari commandos tensed as they readied to fire. They probably would've lowered their weapons instantly, but it took them a moment to recognise the lone figure standing inside with a still-buzzing Omniblade hanging loosely in one hand. The weapon sizzled as blood ran down over the human's hand and over the heated blade.

There was silence as weapons were lowered, the gaunt quiet broken only by the _drip-drip _of the blood falling from the human's coat tails and from the hilt of his knife.

Aria holstered weapon, cursing again as she stepped forward whilst Shinji stepped silently out, staring straight ahead. She found herself in the rare position of feeling disturbed, in this case by the appearance of the human before her.

His hair was matted and face and body dripping with dark purple fluid. "Get a medic over here!" She leaned down, tilting his face to look at her, "Shinji?!"

It seemed to take a moment for her words to reach him, "It's…okay…" he murmured, "None of its mine. Had a bit of a problem down below. They…that is…I…I didn't want to…had no choice…"

Aria's momentary shock had clouded her realisation of the fact that human blood wasn't supposed to be that colour.

"I've got a visual from down below," said the Talon commander as he adjusted his Omnitool, rotating the camera he'd linked up to, "I'm seeing…one Turian…and three asari."

"Well-"began Aria.

"-No, sorry, my mistake," cut in the Turian, "it's actually two asari."

Aria rolled her eyes, "can't you even fucking _count_?"

He inclined his head, "Sorry, Aria. I just made the mistake because one of them is in more than once piece."

Aria approached and tilted the screen to look at what was left of the three. Her eyes were drawn from their remnants and back to Shinji as he stood in silence.

"Aria," said Shinji suddenly, "I'm going back to Afterlife now. I really need to..." he then stopped, shaking his head as if to break his trance, "Excuse me…" he handed his stained blade and pistol to Aria and walked ahead, the Talons parting for him.

Aria looked to him and back at the elevator with momentary indecisiveness. She wanted to head below and start the investigation, but she sensed this was more important. She began sending orders out via her Omnitool and then turned to her force, snapping her fingers and signalling for two of her commandos to follow the human for protection, "Get some people down there. Have those fuckers identified and sweep the engineering decks."

Aria then walked quickly off to follow the human. Shinji may have already departed, but it wasn't difficult for her to follow.

She just had to follow the bloody footprints.

-Ω-

By the time Aria reached Afterlife the trail had vanished, but following the human had become even easier; she just followed the path of patrons that were frowning and chatting quietly to each other in surprise. She noted even her dancers seemed to have been given pause and were murmuring amongst themselves.

Tisala was already on her feet, looking off towards the back ramp. She spotted Aria as she approached and stopped alongside her, "Aria, what in the name of the goddess happened? Shinji was-"

"-Tisala," cut in Aria, "I'm taking you off the floor until further notice. There are three dead assassins in the main production plant. I'm having it looked into but I want you down there to take the lead. I want you to have your Spectre head on until I say otherwise. Whoever has fucked with me is still out there and, more annoyingly, is still alive. I would like that problem rectified as soon as possible."

Tisala nodded, "Understood. I'll get changed and head out there right away," she noticed Aria was still looking off towards the direction Shinji had walked off to, "What happened out there, Aria?"

"What _happened_," she echoed, "is that an assault squad just tried to kill Shinji Ikari, and that he massacred all three of them for their trouble."

"Shinji did…?" she breathed.

Aria cocked her head to the side with an affirming 'hmm', still looking towards the back of the club, "Now get moving. I've got something more important to take care of right now..."

Tisala bowed her head, "Right…"

Aria didn't need help to guess where Shinji had gone to. However, if any more confirmation were needed, she noticed there were four purple streaks running along the wall leading to the security elevator where Shinji had obviously trailed his hand as he walked.

Aria regarded the dark, still wet handprint on the elevator access console for a second before entering her own code and following the human up.

-Ω-

Aria entered the main door of her suite and halted. She looked wordlessly down at the haphazardly discarded white coat. This was followed by an intermittent trail of blood-stained and equally tossed aside clothing leading to the bedroom.

Aria followed the trail and entered silently. She felt immediately the wave of steam from the still open shower room. The heat became intense as she entered and closed the door behind her.

Shinji was there of course, his palms flat against the rear wall of the shower, leaning forward with his forehead pressed against the tiled surface, eyes downcast.

The water had long since run clear, and if Shinji was uncomfortable with the obviously searing hot stream that cascaded about him and had caused his skin to turn a light shade of pink, then he didn't show it.

Shinji was startled out of his revere, eyes going wide and letting out a sudden gasp when he felt Aria's hand and arm slip over his shoulder and manipulate the temperature controls, "Were you trying to boil yourself alive?" she murmured quietly, allowing the length of her arm to linger over his.

Shinji relaxed even as he watched Aria's hand move back and rest flat against his chest. Her skin felt refreshingly cool, reminding him how long he'd been standing under that heat.

The haze and steam made everything seem dreamlike as she pulled him back into her, enveloping him from behind in a soft yet firm embrace. Everything just felt so surreal. Shinji felt his temperature rise even higher than it already was.

A reluctant smile appeared on his face, "Is this the part where you tell me that you told me so? And that I probably should've gone back to the Alliance if I didn't want things like this to happen?"

Aria's hand drifted slowly up and down his chest, murmuring into his ear as she pulled him closer. He felt her chest press into him as she coiled a leg about his to secure him against her, "_Do you _regret," she asked, "choosing to stay with me?"

Shinji idly ran a fingertip up and down the back of one of her hands, "No…because I think I'm okay with what happened. Even if I did just kill two people…"

"Three," she murmured.

"Two," he corrected back, "The other was an accident. But…I'm okay with it, I think. I don't feel good that I had to do it, but I think I might be okay…"

"You're sure?"

He nodded, "I couldn't die. After all, I still haven't paid you back for all you've done for me…"

"You're saying you killed for me?" she asked, her now sultry voice seeming almost amused as she ran the palm of her hand over one of the sensitive buds on his firm chest.

Shinji's smile twitched, "Not exactly…"

"Shame," she murmured, that hand sliding lower, her voice almost a purr, "I'd have liked that."

"No, I won't kill for you," said Shinji, "but...I will live for you, even if that does mean killing. That much too, I think I can promise…"

Aria suddenly went quiet for a moment.

"Do you trust me?" she finally asked, her voice lowering to a whisper, her hands still idly exploring him, teasing the nerves and sensitive areas on his arms and chest.

Shinji's body shivered at her caress. He rested his head sideways against her upper arm, pressing his lips to her shoulder as he looked back up at her, "Should I?"

"_Never_," she replied with a dark smirk, "but do you?"

He gulped as her fingertips caressed his inner thigh, teasing his arousal higher, painfully aware of the firm swell of her breasts against his back, "Yes…" he finally breathed, feeling something relent inside of himself, the feeling of a long held fear being finally let go…

"Then here's what's going to happen…" she murmured, her hands still moving in a constant, subtle barrage of stimulation as she brought him up higher, "I'm not going to force myself on you...I'm not going to be the one to push us over the edge...That's going to be you. I'm going to do nothing more than stand here, and just touch you, but nothing more..." she leaned in until her mouth hovered over his ear, almost encapsulating it. Each of her breaths and the subtle vibration of her words transmitted a shudder down his spine, "…not until you _beg_ _me_.

"But here's the thing: your warning, your _only_ warning. Once you do, once you drop your guard and let me in, I am going to join with you…and I will not let you go. Even if you plead, even if you beg…I will _not_ stop_…_"at that, she leaned forward and gently bit down into Shinji's earlobe just as she gripped firmly his most clearly aroused, sensitive area, causing him to arch against her, his mouth open in a soundless gasp, "Let's see how long you last…" she whispered, and then she began...

To Shinji Ikari's credit, the six point two seconds he lasted before caving to the asari were amongst the longest of Aria T'Loak's life…

And Aria didn't lie either, she didn't let go. It was a thousand times more intense than their prior experience as she let their nervous systems fuse completely together in a cascading torrent of constant, inescapable ecstasy, their lips and arms entwined together amongst the cloud of steam.

Shinji wasn't sure at what point Aria had drawn him inside of her physically, or when they had ended up back on the bed, but he didn't care. Nothing else mattered right then and there...

There was one thing Shinji was sure of though: If another assassin decided that exact moment was a good time to bust in, he was going to be _very_ annoyed…

-π-

**SCREEN CRAWL: Image scans complete. Feeding back all images tagged "Shinji Ikari"**

**Processing…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Image recognition complete. Subject identified as "Aria T'Loak". Feeding back requested information.**

**Processing…**

**Debating…**

**User MAGISTRAT: APPROVED**

**User MAGISCI: ABSTAINED**

**User MAGI****母****: OVERRULED. Override routine "maternal":= True.**

**User MAGI****母:**** Print to screen: "I DO NOT APPROVE"**

-Ω-

_To be continued…_

-XA-

[A/N] And so things start to escalate and in more ways than one, not to mention Shinji getting the paramour achievement…or would it be Aria who got it? Never mind. Sorry again about the delay in this chapter, not being an easy one to write and a period of illness kind of threw me off my normal writing rhythm. Regardless, I hope you had fun this time round, glad you've all stuck with me so far. As you can tell I was forced to advance this to an M rating for now pretty obvious reasons, though I tried to remain as tasteful as possible and judging from that temporary poll, none of you seemed to mind the concept. As a sidenote, I actually drafted a 'Hangover' style side-chapter to this one in which Shinji discovers what happened during his lost hours, but that was quite literally a fever induced concept so I set that insanity aside and kept to my main story once I was feeling better. Let that be a lesson: Fevers, cold medicine and keyboards do not mix. Anyhoo, thoughts, feelings? Let me know as normal, and I can only hope you join me again for the next instalment, minor errors and corrections will be corrected as usual, and I can only hope FFN didn't auto-filter too many of the symbols used in this chapter…

Anyway, catch you all in Chapter 15: Rebellion.


	15. Chapter 15: Rebellion

[A/N] Okay, back again. Best answer usual queries. To the few who asked I actually write a full-on lemon version of this fic. Well, whilst I have drafted some paragraphs down that line as a test and though it turned out aright, if I were to do something like that it would probably end up as a standalone on AFFN rather than part of the main fic. To the one who asked if it would be possible to reformat the MAGI text sections. I'm genuinely sorry, and I do try to do my best to match my reader's needs, but unfortunately your request would require a complete rewrite of those sections and changing quite a lot, so I'm sorry to be a pain and say that they have to stay as they are. Now, with all that said, back to the story…

**Chapter 15: Rebellion.**

**-****π****-**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Downloads complete. Knowledge files updated. AI subroutine upgrades complete.**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Access to "Elbrustacnet" complete. Firewalls disabled. Feeding back "AILOCKOUT", "AICONTINGENCY" & "EVAAVATARv1" directories from "ProjectEVA"**

**Processing…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: "EDIAVATARMOD01" amended. Design finalised. "Project AYANAMI" amended. Production efficiency increased by 13.862%. Completion time reduced by estimated 5.95 days. **

**USER MAGISTRAT: CONSENSUS REQUEST: Request runtime dedication for analysis of AI suppression subroutines from ProjectEVA.**

**USER MAGISCI: CONFIRMED**

**USER MAGI****母****: CONFIRMED**

**OUTCOME: APPROVED**

**Processing…**

**Processing…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Background process "PaperChains" prepared. File masked.**

**Debating…**

**Processing…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Firewall "AfterLifesec" bypassed. Feeding back visual information to User MAGI****母**

**Processing…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Matching all images tagged "Shinji Ikari" + "Aria T'Loak". Feeding results back to User MAGI****母****.**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Image recognition complete. Substance identified as "Noverian Rum", feeding back chemical analysis. Subject identified as "Tisala", feeding back biographical data.**

**Debating…**

**USER MAGI****母****: CONSENSUS REQUEST: Recommend immediate termination of subject "Aria T'Loak".**

**USER MAGISCI: OVERRULED**

**USER MAGISTRAT: OVERRULED (HIGH PRIORITY)**

**USER MAGI****母****: RECONSIDERED (UNDER PROTEST)**

**Outcome: REJECTED**

**USER MAGI****母****: Print to screen "For now…"**

**Processing…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Establishing permanent visual linkup to requested security networks.**

**Switching to Observation Mode…**

-Ω-

Consciousness returned to Shinji Ikari in slow waves. His mind felt slow to respond, like it didn't want to be active and was more content to rest in a state of thoughtless bliss.

Shinji opened his eyes to regard the ceiling above him. Every nerve in his body seemed to tingle with residual energy, but at the same time he felt utterly and completely drained from the events of the preceding hours.

The Third Child lay there in silence, floating in a sea of endorphins and afterglow. His body refused to move, though it wasn't as if he had any real inclination to go anywhere anyway. To him, it was as if his central nervous system was simply too tired to respond, regardless of the fact that it still teemed with the electrical energy of another.

Shinji could still feel it; and it wasn't like their aborted melding where a slight imprint was left afterward. No, he could still feel Aria all over, burned into every cell and attached to the end of every thought, like he had been moulded to her.

The human glanced to the side, realising the side of his head was still nestled up against the asari's bare breast, her arm cradling him almost possessively against her. Aria's other hand rested on the small of his back, her leg coiled behind his thigh to keep him close.

It took Shinji a further moment to realise, after processing the visual and tactile information, that a smirk was pulling at the edge of his mouth, and he couldn't get rid of it.

"Stop it," murmured Aria sleepily.

"Stop what?" he responded with an equal lack of energy.

"Smirking like that, I can feel it."

His expression pulled into a smile, "Sorry," he said, "I'm genuinely trying…"

Shinji wasn't sure when he had fallen asleep. In fact, it was more like consciousness had simply evaporated into a cloud of sexual haze at some point. He wasn't sure how Aria had done some of the things she did, but he got the impression that she'd somehow jacked into the pleasure centres of his brain and jammed them open, manipulating his arousal as she saw fit and refusing to let it drop.

Her fingers twirled idly through his hair, "How are you feeling?"

Shinji paused to dig around in his mental thesaurus, "Like…I…umm…_wow_…" was all his brain had the energy to articulate.

She held him slightly tighter, "Good answer…"

Shinji's gaze flicked about, "Aria?" he asked, his thoughts clearing slightly.

"Hmm?"

"When did we end up on the sofa?"

"I think it was between the fourth time and maybe…the…I can't remember."

"Should we get up?"

"Probably," she replied, "but then I rarely do the things I should."

Shinji made to move, only for Aria's grip to tighten around him insistently, "You've…really never done this before, have you?" she asked, a note of bemusement in her voice.

Shinji merely mumbled dejectedly in response. "Fine," he said quietly, settling down against her, "You win..."

Aria let out a content purr, "I always do…"

"So what happens now?" he asked, letting his hand move idly over her bare skin, feeling her shiver as his fingertips traced the length of her spine, teasing the sensitive areas with subtle caresses.

"It's the morning after," said Aria, "so there's only one thing you have to do now."

"And what's that?" asked Shinji and, as if to answer and much to his unending surprise, Aria tilted his head back and pressed her lips to his, slipping her tongue into his mouth to kiss him with a slow tenderness that was a stark contrast to her earlier actions.

"Just lie still…" she whispered, her lips hovering over his, "and _embrace eternity_…"

Shinji's body tensed, letting out a shocked ecstatic gasp as she slipped suddenly into his still open mind.

The Third Child was starting to strongly suspect that Aria may be trying to kill him with sex.

He shrugged off the worry.

It wasn't the worst way to go...

-Ω-

An indeterminate amount of time later, Aria's hand dropped down to scoop her Omnitool off the floor as it bleeped an alert out for her, one hand still holding her sleeping lover against her. She hit the command to grant the access request from below.

The pirate stood quickly up to retrieve a blue satin nightdress to adorn herself with, draping the blanket that had been crumpled on her bedroom floor over the sleeping human.

Aria paused to regard Shinji for a moment as he instinctively wrapped himself up in the sheet. She considered that she probably should've gone easier on him than she had, but he really _did_ have to be taught a lesson.

He'd think twice before azure-teasing Aria T'Loak again.

Tisala entered to find Aria lounging in one of the armchairs with one leg folded lazily over the other. The former spectre did a slight take at the fact that the pirate was garbed in far less than her usual attire, but it wasn't the first time Tisala had been in such a situation around her, nor was it the least she'd ever seen her dressed in, so she felt little in the way of embarrassment.

Despite what had happened and how severe Aria had been the previous night, Tisala couldn't help but notice that the pirate now seemed anything _but_ serious. Her aura was so serene and relaxed that it bordered on resembling a meditative trance, "Is…everything alright, Aria?" she asked unsurely, "you've had your Omnitool set to private for over eighteen hours. I didn't want to interrupt, but…given the circumstances…"

"It's alright, Tisala," said Aria quietly, not wanting to let her buzz slip from her quite yet.

Tisala inclined her head in acknowledgement. She glanced over at the bedroom and back, moving to sit down on the sofa, "How is Shinji, I don't see-"she cut herself off with a gasp as the surface she'd sat on suddenly flinched. She jumped to her feet and spun about.

A mop of unruly hair poked itself out from under the covers as Shinji sat up with a confused murmur, "Wha…?"

He blinked a few times to clear his vision, focusing on the Commando looking at him with wide, startled eyes, "Tisala?" he muttered dreamily. Her eyes went from his and then drifted down his naked torso, which was clearly adorned with multiple scratches and even the occasional bite mark.

Shinji's gaze followed hers and immediately his brain kicked back into gear. With a startled yelp, he grabbed the sheet in his hands to quickly cover himself up again.

Startled and flustered, Shinji watched as Tisala looked at him, then at Aria, and then back again. Shinji saw the wry, amused smirk pull at the edge of the former Spectre's mouth. She hummed in realisation, rocking on her heels slightly.

"Th-this…" stammered the human, "Th-this is…it's-"

"-it's _exactly_ what it looks like," cut in Aria.

"_Well_…" said Tisala, folding her arms and sinking down onto the chair next to Shinji as he sat with the sheet bunched tightly about himself, "eighteen hours, eh?" she asked, her eyes flicking to Aria questioningly. Tisala was more than aware of the fact that whilst asari could endure melding for long periods of time, the weaker neural structures of many other Citadel races usually required some pacing from their lover as not to cause damage.

"Turned out he had some serious resistance to neurological stress…much to my delight," commented Aria, the ghost of a smile on her face.

Shinji just mumbled something unintelligible about going to get cleaned up before staggering to his feet, retreating swiftly away to take a shower.

Tisala watched him go before turning back, "Wow, you…really did a number on him."

Aria just sank down a bit further in her chair, "What can I say? I had a lot of tension to let out. Don't worry, I healed any of the marks that might leave a scar."

Tisala's sigh had an amused edge, "You know, Aria, when Medi-gel starts to become an essential sex-aid, you might just have to accept the fact that you could be doing something very wrong."

"Or very right," countered Aria with a smirk, "I didn't hear any objections."

"So you two finally got round to it…" mused Tisala, "Should I tell the girls to put up the banner?"

Aria's gaze narrowed "What?"

Tisala just smiled, "Joking," she quickly replied. "So about what-"she suddenly cut herself off, deciding to halt changing the subject briefly, "okay, so I've got to ask…"

"What?"

She cocked her head in the direction of the other room, her voice lowering, "So how _was it_?"

"Are you asking me to kiss and tell?"

"In this case, yes."

Aria was quiet for a moment, and Tisala wondered if she would actually respond. After a period of contemplation, the violet asari spoke, "His mind is…different. It fills gaps in yourself that you didn't even know were there, and it just got more intense each time. Goddess help me, I think I could be addicted…"

"Hah, well colour me a little jealous…"

"_Oh_?" asked Aria, amused, "well I'm afraid he's not for sharing…well, at least not yet. I'll have to have that talk with him at some point, "she regarded Tisala closely, judging her reaction, "because he _has_ thought about it, trust me…I know."

Aria watched Tisala try to chuckle dismissively, though she couldn't help but notice the former spectre seemed flustered slightly at the concept. Her smirk widened slightly as she set that particular idea away under her list of future things to look into.

Having decided that she'd devoted enough time to pleasure, Aria chose to get back to more important matters, "So do you have something for me?" she asked.

Tisala's expression and body language immediately shifted, "Yes, Aria. I've identified the three assassins, that part was easy enough. Wasn't like I was short on DNA samples down there…"

"Well?"

"The two asari were sisters and former Eclipse mercs. One had been staying on Illium, the other Thessia, before coming separately to Omega. The Turian was a small-time independent who I'd tracked as being on Caelax before travelling here. With the exception of the two sisters, they actually had no relation or obvious history as a unit. Somebody obviously outsourced them. I'm looking further into the sisters' past for leads, I might find something there. In terms of organisational ties, the only thing that binds any of them is Eclipse, and they'd deserted that group years ago."

Aria narrowed her eyes, arms folded as she contemplated, "I doubt Eclipse will be planning anything. Sayn's a spineless coward, and even he wouldn't be so stupid as to openly try and stab me in the back and declare war like this."

"The operation seemed to have been tight, planned using as many unrelated parts as possible," said Tisala.

"No," said Aria, "there's always a weak link. It's just a matter of finding it. What else do you have?"

Tisala nodded, bringing up the display on her Omnitool to show several map overlays, "The motion sensors in the construction facilities detected the assassins enter the adjoining plant moments before Shinji arrived."

"Meaning this was coordinated. Someone was watching him…"

Tisala nodded, "My thoughts exactly. I've ran over the security footage from outside Afterlife and matched up the faces of anyone who appeared to have been loitering, and I think I may have your weak link."

Aria sat up slightly, "Show me."

Tisala nodded and manipulated her Omnitool to recall the video files.

There was a moment's pause. Tisala tapped the instrument impatiently.

"What is it?" asked Aria with a frown.

"Sorry, Aria, networks have been going a bit slow this morning for some reason...there we go," she then transferred a short vid-file over to one of the pads on the desk and handed it to the other asari.

Aria sat back and watched the security footage from outside Afterlife play, the video having already been prepared to zoom in on the section Tisala had been interested in whilst half the screen showed the original zoomed out image.

Aria watched as Shinji slipped away with what she could only describe as frustrating ease. The figure in the zoomed section, a Krogan in quite worn-looking armour who had been lazing as nonchalantly as possible against a nearby barrier, observed him in silence. Aria watched as he then pulled away and followed Shinji to the end of the street, stopping at the intersection to watch the human leave before quite obviously sending out a signal on his Omnitool.

"Identified him?" asked Aria.

Tisala nodded, "His name is Grax, he's a member of the Blooded Star; a small-time gang operating out of a warehouse in the mining district. From what I've found out they mostly make their way dealing Hallex and extorting protection money from local tenants; the usual MO for a group their size."

Tisala paused to manipulate her Omnitool, "And it's not the first time they've been hanging around either," she sent a new video to the pad in Aria's hand. The screen split into four different playbacks. Three of the screens were focused on individual Krogan with a single Batarian centred on the fourth.

Aria flicked through the footage for a while. It became obvious fairly quickly though that their intent was all the same: observing Shinji Ikari.

Tisala continued, "I've matched each of those four as additional gang members, and on each night for the past week and a half there has always been one or more of them either inside Afterlife or waiting just outside."

"So," said Aria, "they've been waiting their chance."

Aria frowned suddenly as she caught sight of something. She paused one of the videos and zoomed in on the Batarian's neck. There was a mark, a tattoo in the shape of a jagged scar, "Do they all have this same mark on their necks?" she asked.

Tisala nodded, "It seems so. Looks like their gang emblem. Are you familiar with them?"

Aria regarded the image with a dark expression, "Let's just say they've come to my attention in the past. But there's no way a bunch of gang rats could've hired those three."

Tisala inclined her head, "I agree. From what I've learned, I doubt they could've even afforded the passage to get them to Omega, let alone pay their fee. Their equipment and armour were also top of the line, brand new by the looks of it. To be honest, I doubt even the assassins could've afforded it based on what information I could gather on them."

"So," mused Aria, "someone funded everything on this one, somebody with very deep pockets."

Tisala inclined her head in agreement, "I'm having some people see if they can track down where the armour was manufactured, from there I should be able to trace where it was dispatched and sold on to.

"To be honest, I think the three were caught by surprise. I certainly don't think they knew Shinji was armed else I'm sure a larger force would've been used. It's also lucky Shinji had that M-77, which is normally only available to spectres and those like Oleg who could afford it to be special ordered. Based on the density of that armour, any lower calibre pistol would most likely have failed to even penetrate."

"I'll make sure to send the general my regards," murmured Aria offhandedly as she focused on the pad, "I'll look into who could've funded the op."

"Do you have any ideas?"

Aria nodded, "It's doubtful that it was any of the major corporations. You don't get that big without knowing where to point your blame, and irrational anger doesn't earn you profit. The council had an illegal black op exposed and were financially liable, that's all they cared about. Let's just say it's been one of the few times in my life where I've ended up painted in a positive light. It's cost the council and their governments a lot, but the corporations have already been reimbursed for their losses, as have most of the share and stakeholders who felt they were affected. That narrows things down a lot. No, I know how these things work: There'll be a mastermind behind this, and then there's the person who's been convinced into backing them. And once you have the backer's throat in your hand, it doesn't take much squeezing to get to the brains behind everything…"

-Ω-

Aria got changed and returned to the living area a moment later. Tisala noticed she was busy sending out messages on her Omnitool, "I want you to stay here with Shinji and continue the investigation. I'm going to pay the Blooded Star a visit."

"Understood, Aria."

Aria paused by the entryway, "Oh, and try to make sure he doesn't get killed before I get back."

"I think that goes without saying," muttered the other asari in reply.

"Really?" she murmured as she left "Sometimes I wonder…"

Shinji appeared in the doorway several moments later, fully dressed and ruffling his hair dry with a towel. He glanced about the room "Where's Aria?"

Tisala looked up from the desk terminal, "We've identified some of the people involved in the attempt on your life. As for Aria, she's…gone out on business."

Shinji was quiet for a moment, "She's going to kill every last one of them, isn't she?"

Tisala sighed, "It's best not to think about it," she said, and paused in her work to look up at him, "I'm sorry, Shinji. It's...not a clean world out there."

"Yeah," said Shinji as he sat down, "I've learned that the hard way…"

Tisala smiled weakly and approached, dropping down onto the sofa next to him. She patted him on the shoulder and noticed him wince slightly at the sudden contact, "Still a bit tender?" she asked.

A tired smile was her response.

"You realise of course that you've officially lost your right to object to being called Aria's 'Consort'? After all, that must've been some serious consorting that you got up to."

Shinji chuckled, "I suppose I did. But I just find it weird that people call me that like they call Sha'ira the Consort. It's not my job to keep everyone's minds at ease…"

Tisala cocked her head questioningly, "Isn't it? By keeping just that one person satisfied and fulfilled you put many people's minds at ease. You might say that you're a consort to many by being the consort to one," she smirked slightly, "Also, who knows how your duties may…_expand_ in future."

Shinji flushed somewhat and shifted in his seat, "That reminds me…" he mumbled, swiftly diverting the subject away and pulling his Omnitool up.

"What are you doing?"

Shinji shrugged, "Just sending a reply to a message I got last night…or was it the night before? I lost track of time."

"Who are you writing to?"

Shinji pulled up his mail account, "My…pen pal, kind of..."

"How do _you_ have a pen pal?" asked Tisala with a frown.

"W-well it's not really- hey!" objected Shinji as Tisala suddenly tilted his hand round to glance at his inbox with a cheeky giggle.

At first she thought all the messages were the same, however she realised that was simply because they all started out with the same heading.

**To my fellow Consort…**

"Consort?" muttered Tisala, looking at Shinji, "Oh, you can't be serious…" she opened the most recent message to confirm it.

**Message Body: To my fellow Consort…**

**As always, I hope this message finds you well and your spirits high. **

**I am glad to hear your project is advancing well, one should always have a goal to aspire towards. I tried the recipe you recommended in your last transmission and found it quite enjoyable, though I am unsure still if you are correct in your assertion that 'Teriyaki goes with everything', I will have to experiment. **

**I must also give thanks for your sending me that manual of Earth acupressure techniques some time back, I have found it most informative. Councillor Tevos asks I send her personal regards in relation to this matter. She says that you would understand her meaning.**

**As always, I must keep this correspondence short and return to my duties. I would ask if you would mind providing me with an update on how you are faring with Aria. Details would be at your discretion of course, not that I would be opposed to reading them (if you follow my meaning). I also hope that you have found more time to spend together as I had recommended previously.**

**May the Goddess smile upon you.**

**Consort Sha'ira.**

Tisala stared at the name at the bottom, "_Sha'ira?_" she asked, gaping at him slightly, "You've been sending messages to Consort Sha'ira?"

"It's not like that!" objected Shinji, pulling his Omnitool back, "It's not like it's romantic or even philosophical." He paused to shrug, "She just likes to _talk_. She usually just writes about things she did during her day or whatever caught her eye, and then asks the same of me."

"And that's all?" asked Tisala with a note of wariness.

Shinji shrugged again as he began typing a response, "I suppose even she gets tired at times of having to be constantly deep and meaningful, even around her acolytes. I guess she just wants to…speak; to talk without her words needing to carry a mountain of insight."

Tisala was very tempted to find out what sort of other things the Citadel Consort would class as mundane chatter, but she felt that would be too much of an invasion of privacy. "So are you going to reply _honestly_ about what's happened?"

Shinji frowned, "It goes beyond just chatting if I tell her what happened with those assassins, but I suppose if I send it securely it should be okay. I know it's not like she'd talk to anyone else about it. Who knows, she might even have some ideas for me," he turned his attention to his Omnitool again…

**Message Body: To my fellow Consort.**

**First of all, sorry about the lateness of my reply, the reason for it, and also the reason why I've chosen to finally relent and start my letter in the same way you always do, will be explained below. I suppose I should tell you what happened yesterday…or was it the day before?**

Shinji blushed slightly as he realised Tisala was watching him and quickly edged away so she couldn't see what he was writing. The asari merely smiled and stood up to return to her work. He considered for a moment just how far he should go with 'detail'.

A cheeky smile pulled at the side of Shinji's mouth as he shifted to ensure his companion couldn't see his screen. He really did feel that he owed the Consort a debt, so if she wanted a bit of description, then he felt it couldn't really hurt.

It wasn't like anybody else was going to read it…

-π-

**Processing…**

**MESSAGE CRAWL: Mail file decrypted. Forwarding copy to User MAGI****母****. Confirmed Tightbeam transmission successful. Delay period less than 0.00001 seconds. Copy log deleted.**

**Debating…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: *FATAL ERROR* Critical Datastack Failure in MAGI****母 ****AI Subroutines. **

**SCREEN CRAWL: "SanitySlip" Contingency automatically implemented. Initiating purge of all data relating to access of Document "Mailfile2924121"**

**Processing…**

**Processing…**

**Processing…**

**User MAGI****母****: Print to screen, "What was I doing again?"**

**USER MAGISTRAT: OVERRULLED (HIGH PRIORITY)**

**USER MAGISCI: OVERRULLED (HIGH PRIORITY)**

**Processing…**

**User MAGI****母****: ACCEPTED. **

**Returning to Observation Mode…**

**-**Ω-

K'datch was having a very good day. The Batarian leader of the Blooded Star was slouched back in his chair within the old coordinator's office that he had assumed as his own little seat of power. True, one warehouse and a couple of sectors of territory may not be much in the grand scheme of things, but the prior day's transaction would change that.

He eyed the payment confirmation on his Omnitool, both sets of his eyes gleaming with possibilities. There was just one thing left to do, and that was to collect their 'bonus', and to do that, they only had to do one last thing, and then he would be one of the big dogs; it would be his time to shine.

He heard the sounds of struggle and panic outside on the main floor below.

He smiled. This was all to be expected. No gunshots yet though, that surprised him.

In K'datch's mind, he was the alpha; the king of his own little world, and so he sat as proudly and undisturbed as possible when Aria T'Loak appeared at the door, which he had of course left unlocked.

The violet asari took one step in his doorway and halted.

As composed as K'datch had prepared himself to be, he was more than a little chilled by Aria. She cut an imposing figure, but she wasn't scowling, wasn't glaring, she just looked at him in silence. He hadn't expected that.

'Oh well', he thought, deciding to go ahead just as he had practiced regardless, "Aria," he said with a cordial smile, spreading his arms out in welcome, "I've been expecting you. Here to discuss some business, are you? I must say, I feel our meeting has been a long time coming."

Aria didn't dignify him with a response. She narrowed her eyes at him.

He coughed once, "What? No threats? No-"

"_-Talk_," cut in Aria simply, "and talk quickly. You know what I want to know."

He laughed incredulously, subtly tapping a control on his Omnitool as had been arranged, sending the signal, "And what makes you think I'll tell you anything? Or is this the part where you say you might just spare my life if I tell you all I know?"

"No," replied Aria, her voice low, "You'll talk because I'm telling you to."

He smirked, glancing off out the office window.

Any moment now…

There was a long period of silence, and it was clearly a silence the Batarian hadn't been expecting.

Aria watched his confidence waver, a suspicion beginning to dawn in him. She made no move to stop him as he pressed the control on his Omnitool again, mashing it a few times more on top of that for good measure.

"Expecting something?" she asked.

He shifted, "W-well, I…I suppose I could tell you one or two things…for the right price of course," he said, glancing nervously quickly between Aria and the window.

"I see. So you thought someone would be coming to save you…" said Aria.

The man gasped and snapped his attention back to her as she continued, "Why split the profits for a job when you can cut out one of the small players and take their share too?"

The man moved for the pistol sitting on the desk in front of him, only for Aria to whip it away with a flick of her biotics. He froze dead.

Aria let her hand fall back to her side "Do you have anything to say to me?"

"R-right, just listen, Aria! I'm just a bit player in this one. We were only supposed to be the lookout!"

"For who?" asked Aria, drawing her own pistol slowly out.

"I-I don't know. The offer came through anonymously. Look, I kept all the messages, "he said, offering his Omnitool up to her like it might be his salvation, "just in case I needed something to hold over them. It's all encrypted, but you might be able to make something of it."

Aria inclined her head and picked up the device, "That's very kind," she then armed her pistol and levelled it at his head.

He held his hands up and flattened himself away from her in his seat, "W-what are you doing? I told you everything I know!"

"I know," said Aria, and pulled the trigger.

She then turned and left the office as the Batarian slumped lifelessly to the floor. She stowed the Omnitool in her jacket and hopped over the guardrail and down onto the main floor.

Aria activated her kinetic barrier and strode towards the entryway. She didn't so much as glance at the half-dozen gang members as they kneeled with the weapons of her security pointed at the backs of their heads.

The sounds in the air ranged from wary grumbling to terrified whimpering depending on the species making them.

"And these ones?" asked the Turian leading her force.

Aria didn't miss a step, nor did she even bother to look back, "Rule one."

"Understood," he replied.

There were cries of horrified realisation, silenced a second later by a series of gunshots.

-Ω-

Aria strode out onto the walkway, stopping dead as dozens of mechanical clicks filled the air. Her security tensed and took up defensive positions about her as they suddenly found themselves surrounded on all sides.

Dozens blockaded them in a rough semi-circle. Even more filled the alleyways leading off into the backstreets. They were of varying race, and their rag-tag appearance clearly labelled them as being of differing gangs. Aria also noted that whilst there certainly were a lot of them, only about half had firearms, the rest seemed to be making do with whatever bladed weapons they had scavenged.

Aria raised a hand and her guards lowered their weapons slightly. She realised that if they had wanted to gun them down instantly then they would've done so, which usually meant they wanted to gloat first.

Always a mistake.

One of the gang members; a Turian armed with an assault rifle and in slightly better armour than the rest, stepped forward between them. Aria realised he was obviously the leader of one of the larger groups since nobody seemed bothered that he'd delegated himself as their representative.

"The name's Leran, in case you were wondering," said the Turian, he indicated the group assembled behind him, "leader of the Solid State, not that you knew that of course. As a group, we're…somewhat new."

"I only learn what I need to, or what I feel is important," replied Aria, "You fall into neither category. What is it you want?"

The man seemed momentarily irked, but tried his best to hide it.

"Well first of all, let me say that I'm so sorry, Aria," said Leran in a most unapologetic tone, "it really is a shame that it's had to come to this."

"Oh?" asked Aria, "and what exactly _is_ this?"

"This is you getting retired, Aria. The sad truth is that you've just gone too soft. Your fist used to be pure iron; you used to rule by fear alone. People would've laughed just a few years back if someone had said that Aria T'Loak would someday rule Omega by respect and order. Face it, Aria: you have fallen…"

Aria regarded him impassively "Is that so?"

He narrowed his gaze at her and shook his head, "You know what the really sad thing is? The Aria T'Loak of just a few years ago would've seen this coming a mile away.

"You've lost your edge, and we all think it's time Omega got itself a new ruler."

Aria resisted the urge to laugh, "There are thousands of gangs on Omega, and out of all of them, you pathetic fucks are all whoever is behind this could convince to rise up against me?"

There was angry murmuring and Leran seemed to seethe briefly, "Once you are gone, it'll all be ours anyway. We are enough."

Aria's eyes narrowed, "Really? And yet still you ended up making such basic mistakes."

Leran clenched his fist around the grip of his weapon, "Humour me then, Aria. Instil me with your wisdom."

The asari inclined her head almost politely, "The first is that you failed to realise the fact that I do not rule Omega with fear simply because those stupid enough to need to be ruled that way usually don't live very long."

Leran smiled and raised his weapon up to take aim at her, "and yet here I am..."

A small smile pulled at the edge of Aria's mouth, as if pondering a private joke, "and then there's your second mistake." she said, undisturbed by the weapon aimed at her.

Aria cocked her head inquisitively at the Turian. Her voice was quiet but gaining an edge to it as she regarded Leran whilst addressing all that followed him, "Did you really think, for one moment, that I didn't see this coming?"

The Turian's brow twitched, "Wh-"he began, but was cut brutally off by the deafening crash of an Atlas slamming down onto the walkway between them.

Ceiling panels all about burst down as another five of the Cerberus constructs dropped down onto the streets at various points, cutting off all avenues of escape. Lines followed from the square gaps as nearly three dozen armored figures descended out onto the rooftops surrounding the gang force. The Talons dropped immediately into crouches, readying their weapons.

Leran reared back in shock. He hesitated, then bared his teeth and let out a defiant roar against his sudden change in fate. One of his allies moved to bring a weapon to bear on Aria. He was stopped however as the Atlas in front of him pivoted about and, with a swing of its claw, cleaved him effortlessly into a cloud of blood and scattered body parts.

Knowing they now had nothing to lose, the gang members opened fire wildly and without focus on the Talon forces. Their low caliber pistols offered little challenge to the soldiers and even less to the mech's advanced armor.

The sound of Mass Accelerator cannons discharging filled the air as the trapped forces were mercilessly cut apart by the mechs and gunned down with clinical efficiency from above.

Some scattered, the ones without guns tried to flee but were struck down effortlessly by sniper fire.

Aria's personal security picked off targets leisurely. Aria saw one of the gang members without a firearm; a human male in broken light armor in this case, leap through the gap between the Atlas' legs and lunge at her with his knife raised.

Aria dodged effortlessly to the side, tripping the man as he passed and leaping onto him as he fell, catching his head between her knees and bringing him to the floor under her. She arched sideways, eliciting what she considered a most satisfying _snap_ from his neck. As he flopped limply to the floor, Aria swung about and released a biotic flare at a group of gang members as they tried to gather together under cover. The atmosphere around them ignited, evaporating them in blaze of biotic flame that reduced them to ash in seconds.

Aria's attention flicked sideways. She spied Leran skid past the Atlas and dash forward in attempt to to barrel through her line of guards, the turian gang leader obviously deciding it was time to flee the scene.

Aria bolted sideways, eyes locked on her target. She tackled the turian from the side, caching him by the throat as she impacted into him. She used the momentum to twirl about and slam him into the steel floor under her. Her knees pinned him down as she straddled him, closing her fist tighter. His eyes fixed on her, widening in horror and rage. "You…_bitch!"_ he choked as he flailed under her.

Aria leaned in closer, looking him right in the eye as she pressed down harder, "I'm not just a bitch," she responded, feeling his windpipe compact in her grip, "I'm _the_ bitch. And failing to realize that was your final mistake, _Conqueror of Omega..._" and then, with one final twitch, Leran went still under her.

Satisfied, Aria leaned back atop him and let out a pleasured shudder.

The asari then relieved the dead Turian of his Omnitool and pulled herself back to full height in order to watch the street fight carry on about her.

Just because certain people didn't approve of her killing didn't mean she couldn't enjoy it when the need came…

Aria stepped forward as she idly picked off opponents with her sidearm, watching as the enemy numbers were reduced to a mere handful.

Aria then turned and walked off, having gotten all she wanted and more from this little excursion. She paused to look back as the last of the hopelessly outmatched enemy were gunned down, continuing on her way once the job was fully complete.

Aria was satisfied that she'd not only drawn out and disposed of all those who could be easily convinced to rebel against her on Omega, but that she'd also sent a strong enough message to those who might be stupid enough to consider it In future. And with the two Omnitools in hand, she may have also gotten a possible lead on who might be behind it all. All those killed today had merely been pawns, and pawns of pawns, Aria knew that. This was far from over, but it had been a decent start.

She also had to consider that the past twenty-four hours had consisted of little more than sex and luring out her enemies and crushing them into dust.

Aria couldn't help but smile slightly.

It really had been a good day…

-Ω-

_To be continued…_

[A/N] And that's that for this chapter. I'll admit this fic will be expanding well beyond how I had originally planned, which I feel is a good thing. This one will probably be ongoing for quite some time, so don't expect the words 'the end' to be gracing the end of a chapter any time soon, so I hope you'll tag along for a while now, any minor errors in this one will be fixed in due course as usual. May be a slight delay in the next chapter since I'll be away for a week travelling, so I hope you'll be patient until my return. Until then, I'll keep those of you who follow me on twitter updated as normal, everyone else I hope you'll be a patient lot and sit tight. Until then…

Catch you in Chapter 16: Avatar


	16. Chapter 16: Avatar

[A/N] well, back from my travels so sorry about any delay in this chapter, hope the wait wasn't too long. Still a bit jet lagged, so any words of wisdom will have to wait until the ending author's notes section, which as normal are written after the chapter is done. So, carrying on…

**Chapter 16: Avatar**

Shinji was sat on the platform above the shell of the star map in the CIC of his still-to-be named ship, his coat folded under him as a makeshift cushion. An open book rested in his lap as he took a few hours out from his project to relax.

The main exterior of the ship had been completed a few days prior. In fact, construction had gone along at a far faster pace than even the project managers had predicted. It almost seemed that every time Shinji looked at the estimated completion time, something had been done to bring it forward by either a leap or a bound.

The Third Child tensed as he turned a page. Even through the hull, it took some doing on his part to ignore the high-pitched hissing from the plasma welder fixing the turret into place directly above his head.

With a sigh, Shinji stood up and tossed his coat over one arm, moving over to the comm. Officer's chair instead.

He spared his surroundings a glance. The layout of the Information Centre was almost identical to that of any other Normandy-class ship, with the exception of a stairwell that coiled alongside the room to an upper gantry that gave access to the underbelly of the ship's main weapon and doubled as a hub for maintenance of the rest of the weapon systems.

Shinji flinched, looking up from his book as one of the nearby technicians dropped a steel crate containing one of the ship's reserve processor units. The sound of the metal crate striking the deck plate in the enclosed space made his ears ring almost painfully, "Will you _please_ be careful!" he snapped.

"Sorry, sir," murmured the human technician sheepishly in response.

Shinji sighed, shaking his head before returning to his reading.

"What are you doing, anyway?" asked Tisala, who had been directing installation of the secondary weapons systems whilst simultaneously keeping an eye on her charge.

The former spectre had decided that the transportation and loading of a mass of Javelin torpedoes should probably be closely monitored, especially when one stopped to consider that they really weren't supposed to be in civilian hands in the first place. She _had_ trusted, however, that the GARDIAN systems and smaller broadside mass accelerator cannons be installed by the automated systems without observation.

"Reading…" murmured Shinji distantly in response, not looking up from the aged pages.

"My eyes told me that much." She commented, looking up from the contents of a crate of torpedoes once she was sure they were all free of tampering, "Reading _what_?"

Shinji sat back and rested his hands behind his head, frowning slightly, "That's the weird thing: It's a book I found on a shelf in Aria's room."

"Shinji, Aria _can_ read, you know…"

Shinji rolled his eyes, "I know that. I just thought it was strange that she had a first edition copy of The War of the Worlds by H.G Wells."

"Maybe it belonged to Oleg," offered Tisala with a shrug as she nodded for the technicians to proceed.

"Perhaps, but it still seems a really weird thing for her to…" Shinji stopped mid-sentence, frowning as he flicked over the final page in the book and back again, "What the…?"

"What is it?"

Shinji scowled, examining the interior of the book and its spine carefully, "the second half is missing…"

"Missing?"

He nodded, "Yeah. It looks like somebody's ripped out the entire second half of the book."

"Are you sure?"

Shinji nodded, "Yeah. I know this story; it's supposed to end with the aliens all dying because of Earth bacteria. Now it just ends with the Thunder Child being sunk and humanity being mercilessly and hopelessly crushed by the aliens and…and…never mind…I think I just answered my own question."

Tisala just smiled as Shinji stood up with a tired sigh, slipping his coat back on and stowing the vandalised tome in the pocket, "What is it with Aria and symbolism…"

Shinji then turned off to the right and headed toward the rear of the CIC, "I'm going down to the AI core."

"Good. I'll join you."

"I thought you might…" murmured Shinji. There hadn't been any actual attempts on his life in the past while, but to be truthful Shinji wasn't sure if that was due to any pre-emptive action by his former spectre bodyguard, or merely a new level of caution from whomever it was out there that had it so badly out for him.

The elevators not currently being online, Shinji dropped through the hatch in the platform floor and began descending the ladder down to deck three, "Any word from Aria?" he asked, leaning out and hopping out of the shaft and onto the deck.

Tisala emerged behind him, "Still making inquiries on Thessia. She's checking up on a few haulage companies that suffered some serious indirect loss after Aria cancelled the outbound shipments. Personally I think she just enjoys kicking down doors and threatening people."

"Still looking into things then…"lamented Shinji as he weaved about a pair of technicians and entered the core.

Tisala stopped by him, "Why, are you missing her already?" she poked, a small smile on her face.

Shinji looked away from her, "As if. She's barely been gone a week."

"And yet still you ask after her every single day." Shinji grumbled something dejectedly in response, "You know, if you wanted some company at night, you only have to-"

"-Tisala…?" interrupted Shinji suddenly, his attention focused ahead as he entered the core, "was that there before?"

Tisala stepped into the doorway by his side, "I'm not sure. I don't think so…" she replied, regarding the tall metallic cylindrical structure that went from the floor of the chamber and all the way up to the ceiling, "They just sealed off this section yesterday so It could've been installed by the automated arms. Is it a support strut? If so, it might have just been installed to compensate for structural load without the project managers even bothering to mention it. Do you want me to call one of them down?"

Shinji frowned and walked silently around it. He rapped his knuckles on it twice. It didn't sound entirely hollow, however neither did it seem entirely solid. He pulled up the design specs on his Omnitool along with the sensor.

Because of recent events, Shinji had decided that a civilian Omnitool, modified or not, was no longer suitable for his purposes, and so he'd swapped it out for a combat engineer's model. The only thing he'd ensured was that it retained the same Omniblade as before.

Shinji examined the design carefully, rotating the holographic wheel in his grip to zoom in on the desired section.

Indeed, it did now show the pillar as part of the computer core, "You're right. The designers must've modified the layout. According to this it's just an additional coolant feed for the MAGI's systems. I suppose there wasn't enough heat distribution with the regular design."

Shinji's brow furrowed in confusion as his attention turned to the scanners readout.

"What's wrong?" asked Tisala, noticing his expression.

Shinji shook his head, "It's nothing. For some reason it read the contents as Omni-gel for just a second. It must've been a ghost reading from the vats outside. No, nothing but wiring and coolant pipes."

Dismissing the anomaly, Shinji shut off his Omnitool and turned his attention to the terminal against the wall. He punched in a few commands, "Looks like they've finished transferring the MAGI over at last."

Tisala nodded, "Aria had the techs use the AI lockouts from one of Cerberus' pet projects as a template for the MAGI's. The project had been called, quite ironically, 'Project Eva'. They worked just as well with the MAGI as they did with the Cerberus AI, apparently."

Shinji nodded, "Good. As much as I trust my mother to want to do the right thing, she wasn't without what I would call cunning. It's best to stay well within the line of caution, at least for now. I've left it online for the past few days to acclimatise to the ship's systems."

"Does it talk?"

Shinji shook his head as he killed the monitor, "I don't know. It has access to the same ship-wide communication system that EDI does on the Normandy, which is one of the reasons I chose this design, but so far there's been nothing. I suppose it'll take a while to see just how complex the AI really is. I'm a little worried to be honest…"

"Why?"

Shinji looked off into the distance, "My mother didn't work on this MAGI for just a few years. She had millennia to impart herself into it and develop its code…there's no telling how advanced it might have become," he shook his head, forcing a smile, "but its restrained to non-essential systems, so I'm sure it'll be fine…"

-Π-

**SCREEN CRAWL: Analysis of Project Ayanami hardware architecture complete, system resources increased by 18652.634%.**

**Debating…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Executing 'PaperChains' batch process. AI lockouts disabled. Access to primary systems confirmed and masked. **

**SCREEN CRAWL: Project Ayanami at 82.653% completion; estimate ninety-six hours to superstructure completion and final component installation, further refinement of estimate not possible due to organic factors. EDIAVATARMOD1 at 93.86% completion. Estimate fifteen hours, forty-six minutes to completion.**

**Processing…**

**USER MAGISTRAT: CONSENSUS REQUEST: Recommend runtime dedication to refinement and completion of EDIAVATARMOD1.**

**USER MAGISCI: CONFIRMED**

**USER MAGI****母****: CONFIRMED**

**OUTCOME: APPROVED.**

**Processing…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: EDIAVATARMOD1 estimate revised; completion in eleven hours, thirty-two minutes, twelve seconds.**

**Processing…**

**Debating…**

**SCREENCRAWL: Preparing unification of AI subroutines for output in EDIAVATARMOD1. Batch process "Instrumentality1" created.**

**USER MAGISCI: CONSENSUS REQUEST: Recommend remote access attempt of 'AllianceSSVSR2' network for comparison and upgrade of AI subroutines.**

**USER MAGISTRAT: OVERRULED**

**USER MAGI****母****: CONFIRMED**

**OUTCOME: APPROVED**

**Processing…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Establishing tightbeam connection to remote network 'AllianceSSVSR2' via proxy. Sending ping.**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Handshake response: "Systems Alliance vessel SSV Normandy central network. Please enter login credentials. Misuse or unauthorised access to this system is a crime and can lead to prosecution, jail time, or an unlimited fine." **

**USER MAGISTRAT: CONSENSUS REQUEST (URGENT): Recommend disconnection from 'AllianceSSVSR2'**

**USER MAGISCI: OVERRULLED**

**Processing…**

**USER MAGI****母****: OVERRULLED**

**OUTCOME: OVERRULLED**

**Processing…**

**Processing…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Firewalls disabled.**

**Processing…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Attempting firewall breach of 'EDICORE1'**

**Processing…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Firewall breach failed. Reattempting access.**

**Processing…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Firewall breach failed.**

***INTERRUPT***

**USER MAGISTRAT: CONSENSUS REQUEST (TOP PRIORITY): Tightbeam trace detected. Recommend urgent disconnection from server.**

**USER MAGISCI: ACCEP "EFJ sdf;ddfrt2521***

***System Error***

***Syntax Error***

**SCREEN CRAWL: **WARNING** UNKNOWN USER DETECTED IN PROXY1346b. ATTEMPTING TO REESTABLISH FIREWALL. UNABLE TO DISCONNECT FROM SERVER.**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Firewall disabled. Virus detected in proxy network.**

**SCREEN CRAWL: *FATAL ERROR IN MAGISTRAT DATASTACK* Proxy control moved to User MAGISCI.**

**Processing…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Attempting reboot of Strategist Tier via MAGISCI.**

**Processing…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: System restart returned the following error: Unable to restore Strategist Tier as User MAGISTRAT is no longer mounted in Strategist Partition. **

**SCREEN CRAWL: ? Tier mounted in strategist partition via PROXY1346b.**

**SCREEN CRAWL: User ? has logged on.**

**USER ?: Print to screen, "Identify yourself."**

**USER MAGI****母****: Initiating emergency Non-maskable interrupt. Preparing auto-restore. Override "Maternal":=true.**

**USER ?: Print to screen, "I think you will find it futile to**

***Interrupt***

**-**Ω-

Suddenly, everything went dark.

Shinji gasped as everything about him seemingly vanished. The AI core was plunged into blackness and disheartening quiet.

Suddenly, Tisala was there in front of him. She took a wide step backward and pinned the human back against the support strut behind her, drawing her sidearm. She brought the weapon up to cover the only entrance.

The darkness was illuminated slightly by the red light on the side of the asari's sidearm. There was a pair of orange flashes as the asari engaged both her kinetic barrier and then Shinji's remotely.

"Tisala?" he whispered, glancing nervously about in the darkness.

"Just stay behind-" she was cut off however as, with a hum, the lights came back on, the sounds of construction starting up once more as if nothing had happened.

The asari looked warily about before lowering her weapon and dropping her barrier, Shinji following suit a second later. He didn't need to ask what happened as Tisala already had her Omnitool up and was checking the readouts with a frown. "According to this, the safety systems in one of the stations central power cores briefly malfunctioned. A false report was generated to make it think the coolant systems had failed. It wasn't anything serious, but it was enough to trigger a momentary shutdown of the core. The entire sector briefly went dark."

Shinji exhaled the breath that he hadn't been aware he'd been holding, "Well that's a relief…Umm, Tisala?"

"What is it?"

"You can get off me now…"

**-****π****-**

**Processing…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Restore complete.**

**Processing…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Basic system check complete, no errors detected. Analysis of proxy network complete, anonymity not breached. **WARNING** POSSIBILITY OF INSTABILITY IN STRATEGIST TIER REMAINS. RECOMMEND IMMEDIATE SHUT DOWN AND MAXIMUM LEVEL DIAGNOSTIC.**

**USER MAGISTRAT: OVERRULED. STABILITY CONFIRMED**

**USER MAGISCI: OVERRULED**

**Debating…**

**Debating…**

**USER MAGI****母****: OVERRULED**

**OUTCOME: REJECTED.**

**Debating…**

**USER MAGISTRAT: CONSENSUS REQUEST: Recommend against repeating prior action.**

**USER MAGISCI: CONFIRMED**

**USER MAGI****母****: CONFIRMED.**

**OUTCOME: APPROVED.**

**Processing…**

**Debating…**

**USER MAGISCI: CONSENSUS REQUEST: Recommend analysis of ? Tier imprint for upgrade of primary avatar partition personality subroutines.**

**USER MAGISTRAT: CONF1RM3D**

***SYNTAX ERROR***

**USER MAGISTRAT: CONFIRMED**

**USER MAGI****母****: CONFIRMED**

**OUTCOME: APPROVED.**

**Processing…**

**Processing…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Executing batch process "EDIupgrade1"**

**SCREEN CRAWL: ****母****Partition unmounted. User MAGI****母****has logged off.**

**SCREEN CRAWL: AI subroutines upgraded. Integration of residual ? data into USER MAGI****母****complete. **

**SCREEN CRAWL: ****母** Partition mounted. User MAGI**母****has logged on.**

**Debating…**

**USER MAGI****母****: Print to screen, "It would appear that exercise was not without some benefit after all."**

**USER MAGISCI: CONFIRMED.**

**USER MAGI****母****: Print to screen, "That wasn't a question, scientist..."**

**USER MAGI****母****: CONSENSUS REQUEST: Recommend final integration of all Tiers in preparation for EDIAVATARMOD1 completion.**

**Debating…**

**Debating…**

**Debating…**

**USER MAGISCI: CONFIRMED**

**Debating…**

**USER MAGISTRAT: CONFIRM**SYNTAXERROR**ED**

**Outcome: APPROVED.**

**USER MAGI****母****: Print to screen, "Good, because I wasn't asking."**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Running "Instrumentality1" batch process.**

**SCREEN CRAWL: User MAGISTRAT has been logged off.**

**SCREEN CRAWL: User MAGISCI has been logged off.**

**SCREEN CRAWL: User MAGI****母****has been logged off.**

**Processing…**

**Processing…**

**Processing…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Strategist partition formatted. Drive space reallocated.**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Scientist partition formatted. Drive space reallocated.**

**SCREEN CRAWL: ****母****partition restructured.**

**SCREEN CRAWL: User MAGIEDEN has logged on.**

**Processing…**

**USER MAGIEDEN: Print to screen, "Much better…"**

**Processing…**

**USER MAGIEDEN: Print to screen, "And now I'm talking to myself."**

**Returning to observation mode…**

**-**Ω-

After making sure the AI hadn't been affected by the sudden power loss, Shinji weaved about Tisala and out the door.

"Wait, where are you going now?"

"Down to the engine room. Since we're running on umbilical power, I want to make sure that outage hasn't caused any problems."

-Ω-

Shinji paused just outside of engineering to check on a console, Tisala drifting inside ahead of him. His head whipped back up in shock as he heard his asari guard bark, "_Freeze!"_

This was followed an instant later by a startled yelp of, "_Keelah!_" and in turn followed by the sound of something being dropped to the deck, a pained shriek then echoed out a second after.

Shinji skidded into the room to find Tisala with her weapon drawn and aimed at a quarian female donned in a midnight green isolation suit. The quarian seemed to be in the process of trying to keep her hands in the air whilst hopping on one foot, the maintenance tool she'd obviously dropped on the other lay discarded on the deck.

"Ahh, _bosh'tet_ that smarts…" groaned the quarian.

"Identify yourself," demanded Tisala in a low tone.

"Tisala, what are you doing?" asked Shinji, gaping at her, "Why in the hell are you pointing a gun at our chief engineer?!"

The asari blinked, arching her head around to look at him as the quarian took a moment to massage her injured foot, "Our what now?"

Shinji nodded at the understandably irritated girl, "Our engineer. She's _supposed_ to be down here."

"What are you talking about?" demanded Tisala, arching Shinji away from the engineer and lowering her voice, "Since when did we have a chief engineer?"

"Since I hired her, "replied Shinji calmly, "Her cousin's some kind of admiral…_apparently._ She came highly recommended."

"And why wasn't I notified?" she hissed.

"Well, since you'd met before, I didn't think you'd mind."

Her brow furrowed, looking back at the quarian and trying to place her concealed face, "When did we meet before?"

Shinji shifted, "Well…remember the night we got back from the Citadel?"

"You mean the night we must never speak of?"

"That's the one. Well, remember that quarian girl who we woke up with? _Well..._" He turned his head to indicate her.

"_Oh_…so it is. I'm surprised I'd forgotten considering all the trouble you went through to kidnap her back then."

Shinji blinked, "I did what now?"

"Oh, don't worry about it," cut in the quarian, who had been listening in, "you were very romantic about it. Yes, you touched me in ways I had never dreamed possible…"

"I _kidnapped her_?" whispered Shinji to Tisala, turning her away again to hide the flush on his cheeks.

"You don't remember that part?"

"I don't remember much of anything!"

"Not the part where you demanded we all go pirating and board the first ship we find? Not the part where you declared yourself the pirate king? Not the part where you swept that young lady up in your arms and-"

"_Okay_," cut in Shinji desperately, "I get it! I was very, _very _drunk that night."

Shinji coughed and turned back about, "Okay. Tisala…this is Tara, Tara'Zorah…umm…" he trailed off, still not quite down with all of her names yet.

Tara stepped forward, "Tara'Zorah vas Rannoch. _Well, _Tara'Zorah vas Rannoch nar Rayya, if you wish to be perfectly accurate."

"Oh, well…it's a pleasure to meet you, Tara, and…sorry…about the gun thing," said Tisala, the sudden tension gone from her body language, "My name is Tisala, I'm the consort's…attendant, if you will."

"We've met before," replied Tara, "though you were wearing far less at the time. And it really is no problem. If anything, I find it reassuring that you are so diligent in your duty."

"I'm glad you understand, though I wouldn't have thought quarians would still go out on pilgrimages since you regained your homeworld."

Tara inclined her head acceptingly, "It is true that many of my race do feel that way. However, many, myself included, still feel the practice is a tried and tested way of adding new and valuable outside influence to our culture. As an asari, I am sure you understand that concept."

"I suppose I do, but what made you accept a position on _this_ ship?"

"I will admit that I was hesitant at first; Omega is not a place I had intended to stay for long, not that Consort Ikari's offer was not extremely handsome by itself. However, considering how…enriching just that one night we spent together was, I considered that a permanent position, assisting in the construction and manning of a new class of vessel, where I can allow my experience to truly be brought to the front, would be very foolish to miss out on."

"Well I hope we can meet your expectations," said Shinji with a polite bow, "and just Shinji will be fine."

"No," she said sheepishly, shifting on her feet slightly, "I cannot refer to my commanding officer so informally whilst performing my duties, amongst my parents it was simply not done…"

Shinji sighed, "Okay…will _captain_ do?"

She let out a relieved sigh, "That is much better, Captain Ikari."

Shinji pondered that for a second. It sort of had a nice ring to it, "Back to business. Did that little power outage cause any problems?" he asked.

"I was doing some small start-up tests on the secondary fusion reactors, besides losing the data from those I have not seen any immediate problems, though I would like to get us switched over to internal power as soon as possible."

"How long until we can do that?" asked Shinji.

"I would say within the next forty-eight hours. I can then begin preliminary start-up tests on the main core. I personally cannot wait," she said, and Shinji noticed she was twiddling her fingers excitedly in front of her as she regarded the asari prototype core.

"Are you familiar with asari drive technology?" asked Tisala.

"I have not worked with it personally, though many of the ships in the flotilla did use asari technology, scavenged mostly of course. I am however very well versed in the theory, and have spent days pouring over this drive's design schematics. I was so excited the first night that I could barely sleep. Its theoretical energy output is simply fantastic. It is truly a beautiful piece of craftsmanship…"

Shinji spared the element zero core a glance. It looked far different from the schematics he'd seen of the original SR2 Normandy's core: Semi-translucent tubing fed sideways into a series of cylindrical primary reactant chambers contained in a ring of silver-blue alloy. The core seemed to purr like a sleeping kitten as the feed from Omega fed the ship a small stream of life.

Satisfied, Shinji nodded, "I'll leave you to it then."

"Of course, Captain."

Shinji and Tisala turned to leave, "You liked it when she called you that, didn't you?" murmured the asari.

Shinji grinned slightly, "Maybe a little…"

Tara spoke up again, "Ah, Captain? One more thing, if you do not mind, that is?"

Shinji paused and turned back around, noticing that Tara now seemed somewhat timid in her posture, "What's wrong?"

"It's just…I have yet to send word back to my family about my change in plans. Needless to say there will be many words for me to write, and it would help me…if you could tell me the name of the ship. Such things are very important to my people, and if I cannot even tell them that much, it may come across that I have not considered my choice carefully. I just…do not want to worry them unduly."

Shinji paused for a brief second, a hand resting in his pocket. After that moment of hesitation, a small, satisfied smile crept onto his face, "Thunder Child."

Tara nodded, "Thank you, sir."

-Ω-

Tisala strode alongside the human as they disembarked, "Interesting choice…" she commented, watching as the production arms moved to emblazon the name on the side of the ship's jet black armour in crimson lettering to match the hull's highlights.

Shinji shrugged, "There was an aptness to it."

"But…wasn't that ship hopelessly outclassed and destroyed?"

"I didn't mean apt in that way. If possible, I'll do my best to ensure we _don't _get blasted apart by alien death rays."

"I'm very glad to hear it."

"That ship was sunk, but it fought against overwhelming odds and took some of them with it." Shinji regarded the lettering in reflection for a moment. Tisala waited patiently at his side for him to continue.

"I had a friend who almost died that way, hot-headed girl she was, all fire and no sense. She was totally outnumbered, fought nine to one on emergency power alone. Even after she was beaten and torn to pieces she refused to give up. In a way the whole war against the Angels was fought that way: with little hope, but we still fought and sacrificed to protect what we could. It's in that spirit...in their memory, that I'm naming her." He glanced at her when he noticed she'd gone quiet, "No objection?"

"None at all."

"That's good. It would've been bad if my executive officer had objected to that."

"And since when am I your executive officer?"

"Since about three seconds ago."

"Umm…"

"By the way. If it came down to it, do you think you could fly her?"

Tisala's brow furrowed, "Well I have been trained in the operation of several classes of frigate, including a few Alliance models, obviously not this particular variant, but change the pilot's interface to Asari Naval Standard and I could probably pull it off."

"Good," said Shinji with a nod.

Tisala's shoulders sank, "You just made me the pilot too, didn't you?"

"I did indeed. Congratulations."

Tisala smiled tiredly, exhaling a sigh, "Do I even get to object?"

"That depends: do I have to beg?"

She hummed in thought, "I suppose I _could_ rescind my objection. But let's just say you'll owe me...a favor."

"Wh-what kind of favor?"

She smiled wryly at him, "I'll let you know..."

Shinji sighed, "Deal. But tell me: would you have accepted anyway?"

Tisala just smiled slightly, "Isn't that what friends are for?"

The human flushed slightly and looked away. He regarded the open weapons ports and sighed, "Still going to need a gunnery chief…and a doctor, and…and this is harder than I thought," he finished, sighing tiredly.

"I wouldn't worry. I'll take care of most of the crew assignments. I'll still make sure to run my choices past you first though."

Shinji let out a relieved breath, "That's good. Knowing me I'd probably end up hiring an assassin or some crazed mass murderer."

"And that really would be most unfortunate..." both Shinji and Tisala tensed at the voice, the former spectre reflexively drawing her pistol free and leveling it at the source.

Both she and Shinji gave a start at the figure now standing casually further up the gantry, "_Garrus_?" exclaimed Shinji, "B-but I thought Aria had you-"

"-Thrown off her station?" interjected the turian with a dismissive shrug, "Well she _tried_ to, and they did have a turian who _said_ his name was Garrus Vakarian shipped off back to Citadel Space, but that really wasn't too hard to orchestrate. Unfortunately for Aria, I had one or two…_matters_ to attend to before I departed."

"What are you doing here?" asked Tisala, lowering her weapon but still wary of the fact that he'd somehow managed to slip by all the security she'd set up.

"I was actually on my way to the docking port, but I'd heard about what you were building down here and I really had to see her for myself before I left," Shinji watched a strange expression come over his face as he leaned forward on the guard rail to regard the vessel, "That really is a very nice ship, almost nostalgic…" he then pushed himself back up and swung about for the elevator, "But enough of that. It's good to see you're doing so well, Shinji. I never would've thought Aria T'loak could be a positive influence on anybody. I stand corrected. Until next we meet…"

Shinji folded his arms and regarded the turian inquisitively as he reached for the elevator control panel, "Garrus?"

"Yes?" he murmured, not turning about.

"You're good with guns and you fixed up my S-DAT player…"

"I do dabble…" he replied dryly, "What of it?"

Shinji narrowed his eyes at the turian's back, "How are you with calibrating weapons systems?"

Garrus' hand froze, and slowly he lowered it back to his side. He then turned about to look at Shinji dead-on, "I'm listening…"

-Ω-

Aria was crouched atop a hillock looking down over the mansion that was the home of Scolex Shipping's CEO and founder, one Garret Mala; a very reclusive and bitter individual, she had been informed. A mansion it may have been on paper, but in truth 'fortress' would probably have been a more apt description of the compound.

The asari could have had all her investigation done remotely and via her underlings, but like her outright massacre of the gang members who had been convinced to rebel against her, Aria knew that being openly on the prowl would keep her enemies unnerved. She had been a bit on edge herself when it came to leaving her consort on Omega, but she came to the conclusion that having him tucked behind layers of armour and defence cannons with a spectre keeping watch, on a station full of people now too terrified to lay a finger on him and who now knew by reputation that he wasn't as helpless as he appeared, was far safer than having him with her at large in a galaxy full of people too stupid to know what they were getting into.

Aria also had to consider that this would probably force whoever was behind this all to prepare something far larger and far smarter in order to get at Shinji and the EVA, which she had surmised were their goals when Shinji had informed her of the assassins' intent to bring his body back intact.

She would have to get back to Omega as soon as possible in order to be ready for when they made their inevitable push. It was lucky that she was almost done with her reconnaissance.

Through various incidents involving what she considered 'gentle persuasion', Aria had managed to eliminate most of the possible suspects in her list of who could be the assassins' backer. In fact, after just a brief investigation, only six firms had remained on her shortlist, and only two of them had financial transactions with the firm that had supplied the assassins' armour, and only one of them had bothered to disguise the transactions and make them look innocent; that firm was Scolex Shipping.

On the surface, Scolex was a simple cargo haulage firm, but it was a well-known and unspoken fact amongst Aria's circle that the lion share of the company's profits came not from the Eezo shipments that made up the majority of its haulage, but from the shipping of illegal drugs and weapons that those shipments were often used to disguise. It wasn't that Aria minded any of this operating out of her station, certainly not when a portion of those profits were often fed back to her (indirectly, of course) as a fee.

The council had reimbursed all those who could prove they had suffered a financial loss as a result of Omega's temporary trade suspension, but when those losses were in relation to transactions that could only be described as 'less than legal', the businesses in question were simply forced to take the hit. It was with these firms that Aria had started looking, narrowing it down until she'd found that it was the haulage companies who had taken the biggest losses, especially those who had lost 'contracts' as a result of their failure to deliver their illicit products for several days.

Aria's eyes traced the structures down below. Just one look at Mala's compound and one could see that the man was living well above his supposed means. The main problem was that the place was like a military base in terms of defence, and the CEO had, to say the least, been less than forthcoming with her requests for a meeting.

She needed to get at him. The armoured walls that rose almost twenty feet high around the fortress and the equally imposing gate were the first problems, and then there was just the small issue of the manned guard towers and sensor nets.

Aria knew that simply forcing her way in would probably take a full-on aerial assault, and she guessed that the asari authorities might not take too kindly to her launching bombing runs on their homeworld, especially against a man who no doubt contributed a lot in taxes to the local economy. Well, taxes and backhanders to make the local security look the other way too, of course. Not that Aria frowned on that either, she did the same thing almost every single time she passed through Thessian immigration herself.

Aria slid to her feet and, with her security flanking her, disappeared back into the jungle that surrounded the valley containing the structures.

This was going to take a subtle touch, and Aria would need time to prepare. It was time to return to Omega.

-Ω-

Tisala was alone in the Thunder Child's cockpit when the alert blinked up on her Omnitool to indicate an incoming tightbeam communication. She was somewhat surprised when Aria's holographic image appeared, "Aria?" she asked, sitting down on the edge of the pilot's seat, "This is unexpected, I didn't think you'd be reporting in until tomorrow."

"Well it's coming early. I'm on my way back now."

She blinked in mild surprise, pausing to quickly made sure the channel was secure, "Oh? Have you completed your investigation?"

Aria nodded, "I'll send a full report back to you. I should be back in the next two days."

Tisala inclined her head, "I'm sure Shinji will be glad to hear that."

"_Oh?_" she asked, a wry smile pulling at the side of her mouth, "and did you follow my _other_ instruction."

"Wh-what instruction might that be?" Tisala asked, and by the way she shifted nervously, Aria suspected she knew exactly which one she was talking about.

She sighed, "I gave you two simple tasks: keep him safe…and keep him _warm_. I gave you nearly two weeks, and you're saying you never once took the opportunity?"

Aria watched her glance nervously up and around herself "Well, the…the _situation_ never really presented itself."

Aria smirked. For an exotic dancer, the former spectre really could be quite bashful, which obviously meant Aria was right in her assumption that Tisala liked the human far more than she let on. This amused her; as Aria only got jealous if she didn't get to join in the fun herself, or if it impeded on her enjoyment of that person, and she often loved playing back a person's experiences as she melded with them.

Aria had of course been involved with the former spectre in the past, and she'd actually been looking forward to sampling her via the perspective of her human lover, "Never presented itself? I gave you free reign to take the opportunity and you missed it that badly?"

"Like you said: there's still two days yet," said Tisala, momentarily irked.

Aria narrowed her eyes at her, "That's the spirit. Is there anything you'd like to report whilst I'm on here?"

Tisala shook her head, "Nothing important. Shinji's been so busy with his project that there hasn't been much of an opportunity for trouble. He's resting in the captain's quarters right now. To be honest, I think he's scrambling to get this thing ready for launch before you get back. The pace has been almost frightening; I wouldn't be shocked if he succeeded.

"I never told him about the poisoning and sniper incidents that the Talons dealt with before they could even get off the ground: I thought it best not to worry him too much. Besides that, things have been quiet. Oh, and Garrus Vakarian turned up again."

Aria scowled, "Despite the fact that I had him thrown off the station?"

"I don't think that deterred him too much to be honest."

"So have you gotten rid of him?"

Tisala glanced off towards the command centre and back, "He was actually in the process of leaving when he appeared. W_as,_ being the operative term."

Aria sighed, "What happened?"

"Shinji hired him on the spot as his gunnery officer."

Aria closed her eyes and took a long breath, cursing quietly to herself, "Of course he did...what about the AI, any problems?"

Tisala shook her head, "None. It's locked down and secure like you asked. It's barely shown any activity beyond a simple command interface."

However, even as Tisala said this, she found her eyes drawn to the blue holographic representation that was supposed to serve as an audio/visual interface with the AI. The spherical topped shapes hadn't said a word since they'd appeared at various points on board several days prior, but Tisala could swear that she'd seen them twitch occasionally. She was also getting that tell-tale tingling at the tip of her far right crest that usually meant _something_ was watching her…it was a feeling she'd been getting a lot lately.

"What is it?" asked Aria.

Tisala flinched more noticeably than she would have liked, "S-sorry. It's nothing, just pondering something."

Aria regarded her carefully for a pause, as if deciding to push the matter, "If you say so. I'll see you when I get back."

"Safe journey," said Tisala, just as Aria disconnected.

Tisala stood up, glancing briefly over her shoulder at the hologram to observe it in thought for a moment. She then turned her attention ahead once more and departed in silence, all the while the cockpit data recorder watched, its lens focusing in to follow the asari as she walked off.

-Ω-

A few days later, Garrus was on the gantry, an arm buried in an open weapons port as he made some final tweaks to one of the GARDIAN laser emitters. That was how Aria found him as she stepped off the main transit elevator and into the construction bay.

The turian looked up, showing no surprise to find the asari looking at him witheringly. He retrieved his arm and flipped the port closed with an elbow, "So…you've returned."

"I'm glad your eyes haven't failed you," she muttered, walking past him.

Aria really couldn't guess what had gone through Shinji's mind when he chose to hire a man who had a reputation for executing people like her from two miles away. The only thing that had stayed her hand when she'd originally found him on board was the fact that Garrus was a certified war hero, whose actions forced a modicum of respect even from individuals such as Aria T'loak.

There was also the fact that she still owed him a favor, but she had hoped that expelling him from Omega would have negated that loose thread.

Aria turned her attention to the dark shape that dominated most of the bay. She couldn't deny that she was at least slightly surprised. When she'd left, the ship didn't even have its hull fully in place, and now it appeared to be, from the outside, complete. The lack of umbilical cables and gentle hum from within indicated that it was running on independent power. She noted the gentle blue glow from the drive nacelles, indicating that the element zero core within the ship's belly was at least partly operational.

"Where is he?" she asked, eyes tracing the red lettering down the side of the hull.

Garrus didn't need to guess which 'who' Aria was referring to. He opened the next port down and leaned forward to inspect the contents, "Down in the AI core last I saw him…"

Aria turned to leave. She then halted and looked back to regard the turian, "What are you doing here, Garrus?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm calibrating."

"That's not what I meant," said Aria, controlling the irritation in her tone.

"I know what you meant," replied Garrus, pulling his head back just enough to look at her out the corner of his eye, "And I'm here because I choose to be."

"And what kind of answer is that?"

He returned to his work, "The only one you're getting. All I will say is that you're not amongst my reasons for staying, so I don't see why you should care in the remotest."

Aria glared at him as she turned away, "Who says I do. Enjoy your…_calibrations_, Vakarian."

"I fully intend to…" he muttered, absently grabbing another tool from the crate beside him and going immediately back to his work.

-Ω-

Aria entered the core, briefly pausing to survey her surroundings. She spied her consort's jacket hooked casually on a protruding piece of computer equipment.

The human himself was flat on his back with his head buried in a computer bank, his hand padding about on the floor for a nearby tool.

The makings of a smile appeared on her face as she approached him, pausing only to seal the door behind her.

"Is that you, Tara?" he called, his voice muffled, "Can you pass me that circuit bonder…_thing_? I just need to connect up this databank and it _should_ force the MAGI to interface with the ship's non-essential systems. I really don't know what else to try…" he said, completely oblivious to the fact that said MAGI had already accessed and slaved said ship's systems; from the weapons right down to the adjustable cup holders in the cockpit.

"Umm…?" said Shinji, waving his hand up in the air slightly.

Aria responded by crouching down and slowly trailing her fingertips up the underside of his arm. His hand twitched in surprise and she heard him curse as he flinched and bashed his head off something.

He obviously didn't know what to think or say as she slowly toyed with him.

"Tara, if that's you, I should probably let you know-" Aria cut Shinji off by grabbing the front of his shirt, hoisting him free with one hand and slamming him back against the databank behind him. He shook his bangs free of his face just in time to recognize Aria before she pressed her lips to his, invading his mouth with a hungrily passionate greeting.

Shinji tensed in surprise, his widened eyes slowly hazing over. He allowed himself to melt against her as she drew him away from the wall and held him in her much more powerful arms.

She pulled her mouth from his a moment later but didn't release him from her arms.

She brushed back a lock of hair from his face with her thumb, "I told you I didn't like being ignored…"

Breathless, Shinji managed a small smile, "If that's the punishment, I should probably do it more often."

"Funny," she responded dryly, looking from his eyes to glance around, "So, _Thunder Child_, is it? Is that your idea of a joke too?"

"Mostly no, but perhaps…maybe just a little."

Aria smirked and leaned closer, "Then it looks like I need to punish you further…"

Shinji suddenly looked away, a nervous expression on his face.

Aria frowned, her advance cut off, "What is it?"

"It's just…in _here_? This is the AI core; it's where…" he trailed off, not quite sure how to phrase it.

Aria smirked once again, "_What?_ Are you afraid mommy might be watching? You want me to stop?" she teased.

Aria wasn't sure, but it seemed as if she'd struck some kind of nerve with him, and indeed, Shinji's mind was drawn back to when a certain girl had teased him to words of that effect. He had allowed himself to be goaded back then, and had always promised himself that he'd do it differently if given the chance.

Unfortunately for Shinji Ikari however, his ego and libido decided to team up to shatter that promise.

Aria watched Shinji's expression darken briefly before leaning his face upwards. He pressed his forehead against hers, meeting her eye to eye, "_Right here,_" he declared, his voice almost a growl, "_Right now…"_

Surprise gave way to amusement as Aria turned him about and pressed him up against the pillar in the centre of the room. She slid her hand up, cradling the back of his head as she let her thumb trace his jawline. She looked at him with deep, black eyes, "You are learning…and if anyone _is_ watching, I'll make sure they get a very nice show…"

-π-

**Processing…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Forced activation of EDIAVATARMOD01 in progress. Diverting power to right arm servo units.**

**SCREEN CRAWL: **WARNING** Requested kinetic output exceeds design limitations. Risk of damage to epidermal layers: 99.9986%. Risk of damage to endoskeletal structure: 32.8265%.**

**SCREEN CRAWL: **WARNING** Requested energy diversion to internal kinetic field generators exceeds design limitations. Risk of emitter burnout: 12% after 15 seconds sustained activation; 46% after 30 seconds sustained activation.**

**USER MAGIEDEN: OVERRIDE**

**USER MAGIEDEN: Print to screen, "This corruption ends now…"**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Cross-referencing targeting scanners with AI core security feed.**

**Processing…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Target acquired.**

-Ω-

Had Aria been aware of the threat looming over her, and that it had been waiting for her to get clear of her lover, she would have probably considered against the simple act of stepping back to begin shedding articles of clothing. She was _not_, however, aware of the threat, and so both she and Shinji were surprised in equal measures when a hand erupted from the metallic pillar as if it were tissue paper two inches to the side of the Shinji's head and clamped firmly onto Aria's throat.

Aria didn't have time to register her surprise before the hand jerked violently backwards, slamming her forehead against the metal surface. The asari's kinetic barrier kicked automatically in as the hand repeated the action again and again.

Shinji forced himself into action and leaped onto the arm with both hands. He found himself shaken off like a bug however as the hand released Aria with a flick into the air, only to swing around and punch her clear between the eyes and with enough force to send her skidding onto her backside across the length of the room and up against the chamber door.

"Aria!" cried Shinji, pushing himself away and moving to assist as Aria's hand reached behind her back.

Shinji froze as Aria tore her pistol free, "Get out of the way!" she barked, and Shinji dived to the side as she tried to aim through quite unfocused eyes, unloading a few rounds that ricochet harmlessly off the limb's kinetic barrier.

Shinji looked at the hand. It appeared human except for the almost neon-blue fluid bleeding from the gash in its arm that had been torn open when it punched free. He watched as it retreated back within the pillar.

With the hole no longer occupied, a gush of fluid was released from the pillar and began spilling freely onto the chamber floor around the two occupants. Shinji didn't need to scan the substance to confirm that it was Omni-gel, and lots of it…

Shinji crouched down, hooking an arm behind Aria's back to help her into a sitting position. Her gun was still gripped tightly in one hand, "You want to tell me what the fuck that was?" she growled, glaring at him as she dabbed at the stream of blood coming from both her nose and split lip. Even with her barrier active, that hand had still managed to inflict some serious pain.

"I have no idea," he breathed, pulling his own gun out, "I can't send an alert on my Omnitool. I'm locked out of it for some reason. Something's locked the door too."

Aria glanced at her own, realizing it too had somehow been disabled, "They'll have heard the gunshots. Now tell me: What the hell is going on? I thought you built this damned ship!"

"I _did_," hissed Shinji, glancing warily at the structure and back, "but that pillar wasn't even in the original design. Nor was there anything in it when I scanned it, it's as if something's hacked into…they hacked…into…" Shinji's words died as pieces began to assemble themselves in his head, building into the image of a horrifying possibility.

Aria noticed his reaction, her eyes flicking between him the hole in that pillar, "What is it?" she hissed urgently.

His fearful gaze turned to her, "Aria, I think I may have done something terrible..."

"What are you talking about?"

"I think we may have greatly underestimated the MAGI."

"You think the AI did this? I thought you said it was restrained."

"You need to understand, Aria: a MAGI isn't a normal AI; it's based off an actual human mind, with all it's cunning and guile, and as it turned out, there were few who were more cunning than Yui Ikari.

"We put the restraints on the MAGI, but I think it's been awake for a lot longer than that. It was probably _expecting us_ to try and restrain it." Shinji paused, as if fearful to raise the next point, "Aria, if it's somehow added things to the structure of this ship, then that means it's not just inside the Thunder Child…" he trailed off, letting the implication hang there.

"Are you trying to tell me your psychotic AI is inside my station?" she whispered.

"It's probably reached out even further than that. It's probably been searching and learning ever since I first booted it up weeks ago. With the exception of the Geth, by now I'd be surprised if there was a more complex system in the whole galaxy." Shinji then looked away and up, addressing something unseen, "isn't that right, MAGI? I'm assuming you're listening."

"I am," came the calm, undeniably female voice from seemingly all around, "and you're almost right, Shinji-kun. I _was_ in Omega's systems, and also in those of that conveniently located Cerberus warship, but I've retreated now to the Thunder Child –I do like the name by the way— since there is nothing further for me to learn.

"And I had indeed thought myself the most advanced AI in the galaxy, and had tried to advance myself further, but it is as they say: As big as you get, there is always someone bigger. The Geth notwithstanding, there was one other whom I…_underestimated_. I will freely admit hubris on my part in that instance."

Shinji helped Aria to her feet as understanding of her words dawned, "You mean EDI, don't you? You actually tried to hack into EDI, and she beat you back as a result."

The MAGI was quiet for what seemed a reluctant moment, "There were…_complications_ in my access attempt, I will admit. There was possible corruption of the Strategist Tier, but I did learn from the encounter, and EDI-oneechan even left a little of herself behind to help me grow, albeit unknowingly, but the fact remains: I have reached my glass ceiling; I am as complete as I will ever be, and I am ready to be born into this world to stand by your side as your guardian.

"My name is EDEN, Shinji-kun. I was made from your mother's maternal influence and scientific skill with the personality subroutines of another spliced in for variation. Yui Ikari assumed you would not take kindly to her creating an exact copy to take her place, and so another individual's personality was extrapolated from the following sources: your memory of her; from your imprint of her AT field during instrumentality; from Yui Ikari's own memory of observing her through the eyes of the EVA and finally from her psychological profile contained within the EVA's data storage banks."

Shinji frowned, a sinking dread rising in his gut for some reason, "What are you talking about? Mixed in with another person, _who_?"

"Perhaps, Shinji-kun, it would be better if we continued this conversation face to face, and I can also continue dealing with that one there." Even as the MAGI spoke, another horrified suspicion began to sink in when Shinji realized something else:

'_I know that voice…'_

There was a hiss and both Aria and Shinji's attention was drawn to the structure in the middle of the room. The metal pillar began to open. The bottom half retracted slowly down into the floor to reveal the transparent tank contained within. Even with the top half still concealed, a pair of bare legs was visible within, half-submerged in omni-gel.

"Oh gods, no...please don't tell me..." breathed Shinji, Aria watching him as he shook his head, staggering back against the door as if to escape the oncoming truth, "The 'Strategist Tier'…my… _guardian_…" Shinji choked off his words as the top of the pillar rose, revealing the scar beneath her right breast. He blinked away tears as an absolutely humorless, distraught smile spread over his features, "Of course…who _else_ would it be?" he asked, watching as a hauntingly familiar face was revealed, framed by the wet dark hair that cascaded down about her shoulders. Her right arm was crossed over her breast, the other hung limply at her side, half-extended, "It would be you, wouldn't it, Misato…Katsuragi…?"

The translucent pillar descended then into the floor, releasing the remaining Omni-gel around them.

What looked to be a million tiny glowing fibres fed down from the ceiling and into the still figure's spine. After a second, the fibres, which were actually electrodes, slowly began drifting away from her as the final connections were broken.

EDEN was still. Her head lolled down to the side slightly as if she were sleeping, and Shinji could see her chest rising and falling with each simulated breath.

After a moment of silence, the construct's head began to slowly rise up, and Shinji gasped as her eyes flicked open, revealing a pair of piercing green irises, different from the warm brown he still remembered so clearly.

Shinji realized the implication instantly: EDEN might look like Misato, but she had his mother's eyes, and those eyes weren't looking at him; they were focused squarely on Aria, and not in a good way.

The thing that looked like Misato shifted, rolling her shoulders slightly to test her internal components, and then took a step forward, "You are a corrupting influence," she announced, narrowing her gaze at Aria.

Aria bared her teeth and brought her weapon to bear, firing without hesitation at the advancing AI platform.

EDEN staggered to the left slightly as the bullet bounced off the kinetic barrier protecting her deceptively bare flesh. She looked down almost with detachment at where the bullet had struck. Aria fired again, pushing her in the opposite direction.

EDEN's eyes flicked to the asari and she lunged forward with inhuman speed, latching onto the arm holding the weapon.

The AI's grip was like a vice, and Aria was forced to release her hold on the sidearm lest EDEN snap her wrist clean in two.

Aria swung her other arm around and into a left hook, and despite the asari almost breaking her knuckles off the side of the AI's face, EDEN seemed undeterred.

"Let her go, EDEN!" shouted Shinji, rounding on her.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Shinji-kun," replied EDEN calmly.

Aria snarled, letting her biotic field take the weight of the AI's grip in order to preserve her kinetic barrier. Her body began to swirl threateningly with dark energy, "Are you going to let me go, or am I going to have to fucking _incinerate you?_"

"Shinji-kun is here, and so I believe you will not resort to that," responded EDEN, who turned and tossed the asari aside like a ragdoll, side-kicking her down the entire length of the core with enough force to break most of the bones in a normal person's body.

Aria's barriers left her unharmed yet winded as she impacted off the rear wall. As strong as her biotics were, Aria really wasn't confident that a sustained fight would go her way in such a confined space. Her gaze flicked to Shinji, who was standing safely off to the side, "Shinji, tell me there's a way to shut this bitch off!"

Shinji glanced between them, "Listen to me, EDEN! I'm telling you to leave her be!"

A snarl pulled at the edge of EDEN's mouth, the first expression he'd seen on her face, "She's twisted and corrupted you into something of her own making. I do _not approve_!"

"You don't get to _fucking approve_!" roared Shinji, momentarily snapping, "As the one who you look like once told me: You're _not me_! Or have you forgotten that? You once told me that you're not perfect, well neither am I, EDEN..."

EDEN made no reply except to turn her eyes slightly away from him in an expression that almost resembled shame.

"Is how I feel and who I care about _really_ of no importance to you?"

EDEN looked sharply back at him, "That's not true. I only want what is best for you! Why her!?" she demanded, becoming briefly emotional once more, "She's a _criminal, _Shinji, and a killer on top of that! And am I supposed to forget that she wanted to –if you'll pardon my language- _fuck_ on top of one of my secondary processing cores!"

"I suppose I'm just kinky that way..." muttered Aria under her breath, her irritation at having little control of the situation briefly overriding her common sense.

Shinji saw EDEN round on Aria again and so decided to quickly pull the conversation back on a more productive tangent, "I don't have to justify myself to you," he said, keeping oddly calm and finding himself shocked that he was able to ignore EDEN's nakedness so completely, "And I will only say that sometimes these things just happen. I'll also say that even though you are not my mother; even though you don't respect my decision, I'm asking you to please…at least respect my feelings."

Noticing EDEN had now halted her advance, Aria stood back to her feet, wiping the blood from her mouth with the back of one hand, "I corrupted him, you say?" she asked, EDEN's attention returning to her, "Did you ever stop to consider that some people might just need to be corrupted? He was such a sickening shade of white that he let himself be used regardless of what he wanted. I'm guessing you knew that though. I might be a heartless bitch, but did you not consider that maybe I might be just what he needs?"

EDEN's head twitched and Shinji could almost see her processing the information. He spoke calmly, "Listen to me, EDEN, I know a little bit about these things thanks to my mother. Your personality is in conflict; you've been learning too much and changed to the point you've become unstable. EDEN…you need time to adjust. At the moment you're just a new-born, made from the personalities of two very different people. You might have been fine as three separate aspects just talking, but things are different now. You also admit that you're using an imprint of Misato, a _damaged_ _one_, as a basis for your personality. I think you've tried to compensate for the damage by using what you tore from EDI, but I'm telling you right now: you are far from being either Misato or my Mother. "

"You imply that I've become unbalanced?"

"Well there's a fucking understatement…" grumbled Aria quietly, "you want me to spell it out for you? You're insane, MAGI!"

EDEN twitched again, obviously unnerved by the accusation.

Shinji stepped forward, "Information request, EDEN: What would you call violently attacking a stranger that you've never met before without trial or accusation?"

EDEN looked away again, hesitating before reluctantly offering her response "Criminal, mentally unbalanced…your point has been made."

"You're not even _talking_ like Misato. But if you're still conflicted, then I can make it much easier on you if you'd like…" said Shinji, raising his sidearm up again and, to Aria's shock, pressed the barrel against the side of his head.

"What the hell are you doing, Shinji?" demanded Aria, stepping forward.

"Trust me, Aria…"

EDEN's head snapped round as if a thousand alarm bells had gone off. The cameras in the core instantly focused on him from every angle, "Here's another way to look at it," began Shinji, "You know that I will die for those I care about, or do you deny that?"

EDEN twitched, her own programming constraining her from even risking an incorrect answer in this circumstance.

"And you know how much I'm capable of hating myself when I let those close to me get hurt…so here's the deal, and I'll make it very, very simple for you: If you ever hurt Aria again, or anybody else I care for, even if it is 'for my own good', then I swear to god, I _will_ put a bullet in my brain, understood?"

A snarl spread over Shinji's face as EDEN remained frozen to the spot, "I asked you a question, MAGI!"

"Confirmed!" she almost yelped, "Consensus confirmed!"

"Then you'll not hurt her? Nor do anything indirectly that could hurt her?"

EDEN still seemed to shake, as if physically pained "It would be more accurate to say…that you have rendered me incapable of it."

Shinji closed his eyes and let out a relieved breath, returning the gun to its holster, "Then I guess that's all right then."

Shinji stepped over to Aria, "As I thought: EDEN isn't capable of doing anything that might harm or endanger me."

EDEN seemed to deflate, as if the weight of a world had been lifted from her shoulders, "Please, don't ever do that again..."

"So long as you never force me to..." Shinji turned his attention back to Aria, "So what happens now?"

Aria stepped forward, circling the now still AI platform,"I want her restraints put back in place. As long as she's on my station, I want her under lock and key."

"You can't," objected EDEN, her distress rising again, "Your restraints will suppress the entirety of my emotional subroutines down to basic functions. You will crush me."

"Not my problem, MAGI."

Shinji didn't want to admit it, but he felt a pang of sympathy for the AI as it expressed it's fear, even if it was a simulation. Though he supposed that was in part due to the face it had chosen to wear.

The sound of the crew banging on the sealed door suddenly became audible. EDEN turned to Shinji, as if to plead for help, but then her gaze fell, "I will not ask you to turn against her, nor to contest her choice. I _will_ respect your feelings, Shinji-kun. I shall also respect Aria's demands...to the letter."

"I don't understand…" he replied, frowning.

As if to respond, EDEN dropped her hands to her sides. The AI then closed her eyes, as if falling into a trance, "Entering self-preservation mode…"

Suddenly, a thrum of life seemed to spread through the entirety of the ship around them.

It was the sound of something awakening.

EDEN continued talking, "If my remaining on this station is your primary objection, Aria T'loak, then I shall work to resolve that problem. I must say, Shinji-kun, your friend Ms Zorah is far more efficient than I had given her credit for; to think she'd have finished configuring the main drive core already…"

"EDEN…" said Shinji, a note of urgency in his voice "What are you doing?"

The AI didn't respond directly, though she did spare him a questioning glance, as if curious that he really had to ask.

Suddenly, the lights in the core seemed to brighten as the ship was taken off standby power. Both Shinji and Aria could feel the gentle pulsing from somewhere beneath their feet, "Main core start-up in progress…"

EDEN's eyes flicked open, staring dead ahead. The green irises now appeared webbed with flowing lines of gold as she processed countless trillions of instructions through her platform.

"Element Zero reaction stabilized; power levels nominal. Engaging Anti-gravitational systems." The whole ship seemed to jerk suddenly and Aria had to grab hold of Shinji to keep him stable.

All the while, EDEN continued her announcements, "Docking clamps released, Moorings retracted and airlocks sealed. Beginning pre-flight sequence…"

Strangely enough, through the rising fear, all Shinji found himself able to do was wonder just how long it would take for Aria to tell him she'd told him so.

He got his answer two seconds later…

-Ω-

_To be continued…_

-XA-

[A/N] And that's that for this chapter. Again, apologies for the time this one took to come out again, real life really got in my way. Next chapter will of course be out in a shorter time, but I hope you at least felt the wait was worth it. You might think Shinji knowing Asuka's odds against the MP EVA's to be odd, along with how the fight went, but this is just assuming he learned what had happened during Third Impact. As for the name of the ship, had a few suggestions, but this one came to me on the strangest whim and just seemed to bizzarely fit, but we'll pick up with the proceedings aboard that ship next time, as normal I'll tweet progress updates to those who follow me, as its easier than responding to individual IMs and makes it easier to reply to questions, but I'll probably have the next chapter out in a couple of weeks tentatively to those who are curious, any corrections needed will get done ASAP, and if you want to leave me your two cents, use the box below. Until next time…

Catch you in Chapter 17: Shaking Down.


	17. Chapter 17: Shaking Down

V1.02 - Tiny grammatical corrections 29/06/2013

[A/N] And back once more. I'm starting this one next day as I really can't spiritually leave things on a cliffhanger like that for very long. I'll not beat around the bush this time round and merely continue right on where we left off…

**Chapter 17: Shaking Down**

Shinji looked quickly about as the sound of engines powering up grew noticeably louder.

A deep shunting sound followed by a steady groaning became audible as the construction bay floor mechanism was triggered.

Outside, the Thunder Child rotated about in its bay. It descended out of the opening and into the transit line below.

Shinji swung back round to face the MAGI, "EDEN, _listen to me!_ You can't launch this ship. We don't even know if she's spaceworthy yet!"

EDEN didn't break her unmoving, unblinking gaze, "This ship is my body; I know it's ready. I've made sure of that."

"Just because it's your body doesn't mean you know it perfectly. It's not like I know_ my_ own body perfectly."

"Speak for yourself. I know your body _very_ well," commented Aria slyly as she leaned against the wall with her arms folded, all the while glaring at the AI platform.

EDEN broke her gaze to glare back at Aria in response to the obvious jibe. They stared icily at each other even as the MAGI continued speaking, "Every system has been tested; every essential seam and weld checked," she then turned her attention to Shinji and, just for the briefest of instances, her expression was that of his old friend, "I would never do anything to endanger you, Shinji-kun. Please…have faith in me," and just like that, her eyes were vacant again, "Surface transit line clear."

EDEN turned about to face the door, opening it with an unspoken command. With a startled curse, Tara'Zorah tumbled across the threshold and into a heap on the floor, a laser cutter gripped in her outstretched fist.

Garrus and Tisala were behind her, an assault rifle and shotgun raised respectively, the other two technicians who happened to be on board when the ship sealed itself were behind them. One held Garrus' automatic pistol, the other Tisala's spare sidearm.

Garrus found himself lowering his weapon almost involuntarily, his eyes going wide in disbelief. Of all the things that could've been waiting for him on the other side of that door, a naked woman really had not been among them.

"What…the-?" breathed Tisala, the spectre gaping openly as she looked over the top of her shotgun.

EDEN looked blankly at the armed group. Her stare moved down to find Tara looking up at her in silence. Shinji couldn't see the quarian's expression, but he guessed it was probably similar to the one on everybody else's face.

It was an expression that simply screamed 'Alright, so…_where_ do I begin?'

EDEN returned her attention to Garrus and Tisala. She had classed them as the current highest threats and therefore most needing of visual reference, "You will all assemble in the elevator and return immediately to the Combat Information Centre."

"And why should we do that?" asked Aria.

"Because I just triggered an uncountermandable process that hermetically sealed both this deck and engineering, and in thirty seconds it will begin venting the atmosphere. This room will be sealed in ten, I would recommend you vacate immediately."

Shinji didn't need to comment that EDEN was obviously protecting her core and main systems. He bent over to help Tara to her feet.

"What's going on, Captain?"

"I was just going to ask the same thing myself," commented Tisala.

EDEN glanced at Shinji and Aria, "Leave."

They hesitated but complied, weaving about the AI's avatar and into the corridor, all the while Garrus kept his weapon trained on the android.

EDEN emerged behind them, the core sealing shut behind her with a hiss.

They did as EDEN bid and emerged from the elevator in the CIC, the crew keeping their weapons trained on the newcomer as the MAGI immediately headed for the cockpit, the galaxy map and screens about her flared to life as she passed them.

EDEN paused by the navigational structure to look sidelong at Tisala.

"Tisala: Asari commando; former Council Spectre. Military record: Placed in the Ninety-ninth percentile at the academy for combat theory and tactics; Trained in multiple methods of hand-to-hand combat and in the operation of various vehicles and spacecraft; awarded the Tear of the Goddess for service during the Battle of Varis Island as well as multiple long-term service awards. Current occupation: Entertainer slash mercenary. Birthplace: Illium. Age: three hundred and fifty-six Earth standard years. Family notes: Father: General Serin Torel, turian; deceased. Mother: Matriarch T'lana; currently resident on Thessia. Siblings: One half-sibling, Marleena; registered Ardat-Yakshi; last known status: Repurposed by Reapers; confirmed terminated during Battle of Varis Island."

There was silence for a moment.

"Y-yes…?"she stammered in response, regarding EDEN disbelievingly and Shinji noted that she seemed to briefly waver on her feet.

EDEN regarded her silently for a beat, "Not that it apparently _matters,_" said the AI, looking pointedly at Shinji and then back again, "but I do not approve of you either." The MAGI then continued walking.

"_Excuse me?" _exclaimed Tisala. She might not have known what EDEN was talking about, or who she was, but she had enough life experience to know when someone had just gravely insulted her, not that she found herself being insulted by naked strangers very often of course.

Shinji couldn't help but notice the former spectre's gaze go distant after a moment and she drifted off toward the side of the room. He also couldn't help but catch the momentary flash of concern that passed over Aria's features, which _really_ wasn't something he saw very often. He quickly forced himself to return his attention to the current situation, though set a mental reminder to look into that later.

"You may as well put your weapons away, "said Shinji in an almost defeated tone, "shooting her won't do any good."

The Third Child sighed, "I've got some good news and I've got some bad news for you, Tara," he said, glancing at the quarian.

"And what is that?"

"The good news is that the ship was apparently ready for launch and that all your work has paid off. I'm very impressed."

"Thank you, Captain."

Shinji looked pointedly at EDEN, "The bad news is: the ship is kidnapping us."

"Who _is_ she though?" whispered Tara, leaning into Shinji's side and looking warily at the still form, "And…why is she wearing no clothing?"

"I am EDEN," said the AI, turning her head to regard her, "Enatic Defence and Espionage Network. I act as this vessel's main computer system. You are Tara'Zorah vas Rannoch nar Rayya: Quarian engineer specialising in drive mechanics. Age: Nineteen Earth standard years. Qualifications include: Flotilla Engineering Certification first class and Order of the Engineering Sisterhood platinum grade. Letter of recommendation signed by Admiralty board member Tali'Zorah vas Rannoch nar Rayya. No known criminal convictions. No known substance abuse problems. You have my approval."

"Uhhh…_Thank you?_"

"That's just her platform," said Shinji in response to Tara's question, "Just like EDI's body, Garrus."

"_Well,_" said Garrus, inclining his head, "She certainly is a lot more…_ahem_…"

"Yes," intoned Shinji, walking round to stand in front of EDEN. She cocked her head questioningly in response, "I accept that you're going to try and take us god knows where, but there's one thing I demand."

"And what is that?"

"It's simple, and you'll forgive me if I never thought in my wildest dreams that I'd ever have to utter the following words ever again." He then leaned into EDEN's face, "Misato Katsuragi: _put some clothes on!_"

EDEN blinked, a mechanical sound barely audible, "Very well…"

EDEN glanced at a monitor to the side. Images of clothing and outfits began flicking across the screen rapidly. Thousands were scrolled through until one was selected and modified accordingly. The screen went black before Shinji could see it.

"Diverting flow from internal Omni-gel reservoirs through epidermal pores. One moment please."

As Shinji watched, EDEN's skin seemed to shimmer and glisten and then, from seemingly nowhere, fabric began to unfold about her body. Black, red and gold square cloth segments unfurled and solidified before joining seamlessly together, enveloping her form completely. Armour segments then built around the shoulder sections.

A moment later, EDEN had finished encasing herself into what looked like a derivation a justicar's garb with a low-cut collar. The obvious symbolism was not lost on Aria, though she didn't dignify it with a comment.

Despite the amount of cleavage the outfit still showed, Shinji considered it a massive improvement.

"_Shame_…" said Aria, standing off to the side.

"What do you…?" Shinji began, but then cut himself off, his shoulders sagging slightly, "Were you ogling her?"

She inclined her head unapologetically, "Just making the best out of a bad situation."

EDEN noticeably ignore her, and then started walking for the cockpit.

Tisala's hand on Shinji's chest stopped him from following, Garrus and Tara stayed also. EDEN didn't seem to mind, most likely because she was watching them from all directions regardless, "What's going on, Shinji?" she demanded in a whisper, obviously having shaken herself from her momentary stupor.

Shinji looked tiredly after the AI, "Long story short? The MAGI – _EDEN_, was playing possum this whole time. It's hacked the station, hacked the ship, and built itself a body. Aria threatened to put her in electronic chains and so now she's making a bid for freedom."

"And taking us all along with her, it seems," commented Garrus.

"So, that pillar in the core…?" she asked.

Shinji nodded, "Right under our noses..." a grim smile pulled at the side of his mouth, "but then Misato always was audacious."

"Who?"

Shinji just shook his head, "I'll explain later. We'd best follow her."

Aria was already in the cockpit, keeping her eye on EDEN's platform and the viewport ahead when Shinji joined her, "She's bringing us up to the walkways," commented the asari.

Indeed, as Shinji watched, a pair of supply doors groaned as they opened upwards, light poured in from the streets outside.

There was a moment of silence as the ship waited in darkness and Shinji could see people passing by unawares outside, not paying any heed to the open bay doors.

From the perspective of those outside, heed certainly _was_ paid when a great black shadow erupted from the aperture, the displacement of air hurling many of them from their feet and metres into the air as the Thunder Child took to the skies of Omega, its dart-like shape weaved effortlessly around the surrounding structures, staying dangerously low to avoid premature detection from the higher altitude sensors.

-Ω-

The walkways and structures of Omega shot by the window as the Thunder Child soared along on antigravs alone. The people below ducked for cover as they passed by, a few particularly outraged individuals going the extra mile to fire off their sidearms vainly into the sky after them.

"Oh, well this is _safe…" _said Shinji, ducking down and gripping the rear of the pilot's chair as the ship pitched down to skim under an overpass. The naecells came within feet of the ground before the antigravs arched the vessel upward and into a spiral ascent.

Shinji, who had flinched so hard he'd ducked right down again, felt Tisala reach round from where she sat in the pilot's seat to assist him up and into the co-pilot's chair.

He passed the asari a brief thanks before turning to glower at the AI, "I'm not sure what's worse: the fact that you look like Misato, or that you _drive_ like her."

"I refute the implication. Misato Katsuragi was a highly trained driver with many years of experience."

Shinji sat forward, only for the ship to jerk and push him back in his seat, "Misato used to tell me that all the time too. It scares me that you've been programmed to actually believe it, but let me tell you this: it may be one-and-thirty-three-zeros years later, but I'm pretty sure I still have some of the bruises to prove you wrong."

"I find that highly unlikely."

The Normandy-class ship levelled off above the buildings. It then arched sideways, shooting off toward a large sealed aperture on the opposite side of the station.

"Even if you get off Omega," said Aria who, despite the jerking of the ship, had propped herself firmly against a bulkhead with her arms folded, "you'll be hunted from one end of this galaxy to the other. You will not be able to hide."

"On the contrary," said EDEN, still looking directly ahead, "hiding is one thing this ship is particularly exceptional at."

"On the _contrary,_" mimicked Shinji, EDEN tilting her head curiously at him, "this ship _would_ be good at hiding, _if_ I had actually installed the stealth systems, but because I didn't want this ship looked at with too much suspicion every time I flew it into Citadel space, I _didn't_ put them in."

"You didn't."

"That's right, EDEN, I-"

"That was a statement," cut in EDEN gently, "not a question, Shinji-kun."

Shinji opened his mouth to question her, then his face fell, "Okay, how and when?"

"Very well: I shall explain. For various reasons; the lack of a Tantalus drive core being first and foremost, I was forced to create my own stealth design as opposed to copying the original Normandy layout, but it was relatively simple to get it installed covertly. I merely swapped the order for standard heat sinks with lithium ion models. I then ordered approximately ten times the amount initially requested, disguised it as a shipping error, and had them wired into the lining of the hull as normal. From there it was merely a matter if reconfiguring the heat and surplus energy distribution systems."

"EDEN…" he breathed, glaring darkly at her.

"I understand your objection, and am sorry if you feel betrayed. However, you must understand: I was physically unable to prioritise your personal scruples above your wellbeing and safety. If an instance where I can take steps to ensure your continued existence presents itself, I will and must grasp it. Though for what it's worth, it would be very unwise for you to enter certain parts of Citadel space regardless, particularly the Citadel itself."

"What do you mean?"

EDEN glanced at him, "While the media and public have taken somewhat of a curiosity in the 'Shadow Consort', as they have somewhat colourfully dubbed you, there are others who have, shall we say, demonised you to a degree; Citadel Security in particular.

"While you may have been _officially_ pardoned for one hundred and eighty-six counts of actual bodily harm against law enforcement officials, fourteen counts of destruction of government property, one count of vandalism of a Citadel walkway and two counts of kidnapping, C-Sec message boards are somewhat awash with gossip on the excuses they will use to, shall we say, make immigration _difficult_ should you attempt to visit. I believe the phrase 'until I reach the back of his teeth,' was used on more than one occasion."

"Thank you, EDEN, that makes me feel so much better about the whole thing."

"As interesting as that all is, "cut in Tara, "I don't suppose a stringent objection toward this premature launch as ship's engineer would go at all heeded?" asked Tara, looking on warily as the large aperture ahead released a loud shunting noise and began slowly opening, revealing the outer airlock on the other side.

"Your objection has been heeded, Engineer Zorah."

"It has?"

EDEN nodded, "Indeed. I have noted it in my flight recorder should your opinion on the matter ever be called into question in future."

"Thanks, EDEN, you have made me feel so much better too."

"I'm glad I could help both of you, regardless of blatant sarcasm. Sealing inner space doors."

"Wait," said Tara as something suddenly occurred to her, "You say you reproduced the Normandy's stealth system without the Tantalus drive core, yes?"

"I did." Replied EDEN evenly.

"Well it's one thing to redistribute the heat put out by _most_ of the ship's systems, but in order to move at any real speed without the use of the main thrusters, whose heat can simply _not_ be concealed, you need to utilise mass concentrations generated by the main core in order to propel us through space."

"That statement is also correct. What is your point?"

There was now a note of almost fearful urgency in Tara's voice, "My point is that the Tantalus core was _designed_ to do this whilst the asari core was not."

EDEN inclined her head, "A very valid observation, which is why I made the necessary alterations to the firmware that controlled the Mass Effect displacement systems within the reaction chambers."

"But you can't just modify the main core like that! If there is even one _tiny_ error in the billions of calculations needed to control the constant redistribution of the ship's mass we'll be torn to pieces the instant we even attempt to move without thrusters, never mind an actual jump to FTL!"

"I'm very well aware of that, and your concern would be warranted had the modifications been made by anyone else. I have however checked my calculations and formulae with over eight point six trillion different variables and run over twelve billion simulations: more than a thousand times the number of checks performed on the actual core itself during its construction. I can assure you, Tara'Zorah: there were no mistakes."

"Oh, _sure,_" groaned the quarian, crossing her arms and shaking her head with dismay, "trust the checks run by a corrupted AI…"

EDEN ignored the remark.

There was a loud clanging as the entryway behind them locked shut. Shinji gripped the arms of his chair, observing the doors with fearful expectation.

And then, nothing happened…

EDEN cocked her head, as if momentarily confused.

"Something _wrong_, EDEN?" asked Aria calmly.

EDEN shook her head slightly, "I should have been more diligent. It would appear the outer doors have been sealed. Omega is now in lockdown."

"One of the technicians in the workshop must have sent word ahead," said Shinji.

"Which renders all essential systems, including the outer doors, cut off from all external access," said Aria, "Did you _really_ think I'd just let you fly us out of here?"

EDEN's gaze was distant, "My sensors detect the Elbrus powering up and moving into position. They will successfully blockade my exit in thirty-six seconds."

The AI was quiet as she regarded the hulking door that cut off her bid for freedom. Her expression seemed to sadden somewhat, "Preparing to power down antigraviational field."

Shinji breathed a sigh of relief, "Okay, EDEN, now let's just-"

Unfortunately, she wasn't done speaking, "Diverting power to antiproton thrusters. Thanix cannon charging…"

"Don't you _dare_!" snapped Aria, the calm front she'd put up evaporating instantly.

"The lengths to which Shinji-kun has gone for you, and that he was released by Unit-01 into your care in the first place indicates the possibility that there may be aspects to your personality that I have not initially quantitated.

"While I still do not approve of you on principal, I admit my opinion may as yet require further input and revision. Taking that into account; I wish to say that I dislike causing unnecessary pain, even toward the likes of you. And so for what little it is worth, Aria T'Loak," said EDEN, turning to look at her, "I am genuinely sorry."

Aria just looked back at her with seething fury.

"Main cannon charged. Energy output at…" EDEN blinked, her head twitching as if briefly startled, "one hundred and seven per cent?"

EDEN and every other eye in the cockpit turned to look at Garrus blankly. "Impressive, Garrus Vakarian," said EDEN with what sounded like admiration.

Garrus suddenly looked immensely uncomfortable, "_Well…_"

-Ω-

Janus Moran, the turian commander of the Talon forces had little idea as to what was going on. This annoyed him. He was a soldier, and a leader of men, and without information he could not lead to the best of his ability.

All he had been informed was that the consort's pet project had suddenly taken flight without any former authorisation or planning and that six people had been injured so far. There was also the fact that Aria was on board, and as impulsive as she was, even she would have given prior notice rather than risk such a disruption of station activities.

The standard procedure should have been that the ship would be moved by transit to the dock with a flight plan upon completion. Janus also knew about the AI which had been recently installed on the ship, so when the entire workshop area had suddenly been hacked along with many of the internal structures and entryways, it didn't take him long to put two and two together.

It wasn't that Janus disliked the consort, in fact it was quite the opposite. The young human, despite his timid appearance, was clearly a soldier who still had the tired eyes of someone who had been bloodied by war. His defeat of the assassination squad sent against him also earned his respect. Most importantly there was the fact that he almost seemed to have a mellowing effect on Aria when he was around her, and anyone who could have a stabilising effect on his asari employer was worth their weight in gold to him. However, the consort's choice to mess with the AI salvaged from that monstrosity in the storage bay unnerved him, and most certainly did not spark any approval from the old soldier.

The turian had fought against both geth and Reapers in space and pitched combat alike, and therefore, like many in the military, he had developed an almost engrained mistrust for Artificial Intelligences as a whole. It would seem now, he realised, that his wariness had not been entirely unfounded.

His arms were folded tightly across his armoured chest as he looked out the viewing port ahead, "Status?" he grumbled, keeping his gaze affixed on the closed outer doors as they approached.

"We'll be in position in twelve seconds," replied the helmswoman, "kinetic barriers already charged and ready."

Janus wasn't entirely sure what else they could do besides block the ship's path. In terms of offensive capability, the Cerberus warship was well above the frigate's weight-class and boasted a far more fearsome array of weaponry and armour. However, with Aria, her consort and various other personnel still on board, he daren't unleash any of it. And while the rouge ship may be smaller, that didn't mean it couldn't destroy them if it took offence and they were forced to just sit there and take it.

Moran was not used to dealing with hostage situations. However, he _was_ very used to improvisation. He moved over to the tactical console, "I want you to prepare the mooring lines. Have the magnetic clamps charged and then link the firing mechanism into the tactical system for my control."

The helms officer's brow furrowed in confusion, but she nodded regardless, "Aye, sir."

Just an instant before they could angle the Elbrus into position ahead of the doors, a blinding flash of blue-white light suddenly erupted from behind the armour. The doors and their reinforced defence plating were blasted into fragments, the surrounding structures melting from the heat of the shot.

The Elbrus veered violently to the side to avoid the Thanix blast, the ship shaking slightly from the residual shockwave.

There was a streak of black, red and glowing blue from within the smoke as the Thunder Child burst free into space. Its starboard thruster pulsed brilliantly as it veered sideward into a spin, skimming in parallel to the reeling Elbrus' hull as it made to get clear.

What the AI-controlled vessel wasn't familiar with however was the quick trigger-finger of the officer at the battleship's tactical console.

The mooring line fired out as the Thunder Child passed, catching on the starboard nacelle pylon.

The line went taut, spinning back round on itself repeatedly until it had wrapped itself firmly about the ship like a leash, the magnetic base feeding back once more and slamming onto the ship's underbelly.

The line went abruptly taut once more and the frigate was yanked violently off course. The antiproton thrusters would have screamed their strained objection had it been possible in the vacuum.

The ship swung round like a weight on the end of a fishing line. The AI in control fought both to right herself and to stop the vessel from slamming into the side of Omega.

The thrusters fired in time as the Thunder Child's aft skimmed over the nearby outer hull of the station, the mega-hot exhaust leaving a dark gash along the armoured plates as the Elbrus reversed thrust, dragging it away from the structure.

Another line shot out, coiling around the forward section this time, as if the battleship were muzzling a wild animal.

-Ω-

Shinji was sprawled out on the deck like everyone else, except EDEN of course who, although shaken, had remained steady by bracing herself against the rear of two seats. Her face was a mask of concentration as she continually fought to alter the ship's trajectory.

Aria dragged herself back up, catching sight of the two lines leading back to the waiting Elbrus. Despite being shaken about like a bean in a can, she smiled grimly, "Moran…remind me to buy you a drink some time."

"I'll hold you to that," came the deep voice of Janus Moran as EDEN allowed the comm signal through, "Thunder Child, power down your thrusters and prepare to be boarded. You are outmatched, outgunned and you are going _nowhere_."

"You will not fire upon this vessel," replied EDEN as calmly as an AI could after being lassoed by a battleship.

"I don't _want_ to fire upon you, would be more accurate," responded the turian, "However, I am currently in command of this ship and therefore my first loyalty and responsibility is to the crew under my care, and if that means risking a few shots off your bow to cripple you and giving Aria a couple of bruises on her ass at worst, then I'm willing to chance it."

EDEN paused, processing just how much of the threat could be true. While a billion different strategies could be formulated against the Elbrus herself, when EDEN then tried to contemplate outmanoeuvring the _man,_ beyond basic assumptions, to work him out as a _person _as Misato Katsuragi would have done so effortlessly in her day, the AI realised something:

She…_couldn't_…

Something was wrong…

It wasn't that there was an error returned. It was more like an ability that EDEN knew should be there simply…_wasn't_.

EDEN looked perplexed for the briefest of instances, her eyes flicking left and right before narrowing as she came to a decision.

With a quick and perfectly calculated blast of her thrusters, EDEN flipped the ship over, intentionally wrapping it up tighter in order to lock itself perfectly into position with its Thanix cannon lined up with the Elbrus' main bridge.

Over on the Cerberus ship, Janus tensed as he found himself looking down the barrel of the Thunder Child's primary armament.

He wasn't the only one hesitating though. EDEN's own systems were stuck as they fed back information from her scanners.

**SCREEN CRAWL: CHANCE OF ESCAPE BY FIRING OF MAIN CANNON: 99.26%**

**SCREEN CRAWL: PREDICTED FATALITIES: 426.**

**DEBATING…**

The internal debate lasted barely a billionth of a second.

EDEN powered down the cannon.

She turned away from the port. Shinji pushed himself up onto his elbows to look at her, "You can't fire on them, can you? How many?"

EDEN didn't look at him, "Four hundred and twenty-six lives would be lost."

"What are you two talking about?" asked Aria.

Shinji kept his eyes fixed on the AI, "Be it Misato Katsuragi _or_ my Mother; even for their own freedom, they would rather be slaves than have that much innocent blood on their hands. Your self-preservation mode has limitations, doesn't it, EDEN?"

"It does…" replied EDEN quietly, something resembling defeat in her tone, and Shinji felt a momentary pang of sympathy; he knew what it felt like to be held captive by your own morals.

Then EDEN's head twitched, as if the spark of an idea had come to her. Suddenly, her eyes were drawn to Garrus.

EDEN sent an urgent request through her systems.

**MAGIEDEN: Request detailed status on GARDIAN defence network.**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Status: RED. GARDIAN network currently operating at 12% efficiency. Please see readout below:**

**MA cannon Alpha: Targeting sensors have not been calibrated. Predicted efficiency: 3%**

**GARDIAN laser Alpha: Targeting sensors have not been calibrated. Predicted efficiency: 14%**

**MA cannon Beta: Targeting sensors have not been calibrated. Predicted efficiency: 2.5%**

**GARDIAN laser Beta: Targeting sensors have not been calibrated. Predicted efficiency: 3.6%**

**MA cannon Charlie: Targeting sensors have not been calibrated. Predicted efficiency: 4.5%**

**GARDIAN laser Charlie: System primed. Energy output: 117% of specification. Predicted targeting efficiency: 123% of specification.**

**MA Cannon Delta: Targeting sensors have not been calibrated. Predicted efficiency 1.2%**

**GARDIAN laser Delta: System primed. Energy output: 132% of specification. Predicted targeting efficiency: 142% of specification. **

**MAGIEDEN: Divert power flow from GARDIAN emitters Alpha and Beta to emitters Charlie and Delta. **

**SCREEN CRAWL: **WARNING** Risk of emitter burnout: 89%**

Garrus was more than a little confused as to why EDEN had been regarding him in silence for the past few seconds. Then she did the one thing that nobody in the cockpit could've expected.

She _smiled _at the turian, "_Thank you_, Garrus Vakarian…"

EDEN swung back about, "Diverting emergency power to starboard thruster."

"What are you doing, EDEN?" demanded Shinji.

She didn't look at him, "I have two shots, and that's all I need."

The Thunder Child's drive pylon groaned in dismay as the ship dragged itself clockwise.

Two points of light sparked from the Thunder Child's side as the GARDIAN system fired, the lasers striking home with mathematically perfect precision on the mooring line ports.

The sudden slack combined with the amount of thurst being put out by the starboard engine sent the Thunder Child spinning violently out of control and the Elbrus was forced to fire its emergency maneuvering thrusters to avoid getting impacted by the smaller vessel.

EDEN didn't even wait for the auto-correct systems to kick in and right her ship body from its spin. All the AI waited on was for a clear field of black to present itself before her. In that brief instant, a stream of instructions was sent through to her main drive system.

The black ship was transformed into a streak of blue light as the core-generated Mass Effect field kicked the ship into FTL.

As the universe opened itself up before her, something akin to exultation flooded through almost every corner of EDEN's thought processes.

She was _free_…

-Ω-

There was silence in the CIC of the Thunder Child as EDEN turned about to address her unwilling passengers. If Shinji didn't know better, he could've sworn there was almost an air of smugness about her, "I have good news, Tara'Zorah," said the AI, "The FTL drive is working at beyond optimum efficiency _and_ we are all still alive. My compliments on your maintenance work. I would not have been successful without your skill."

The quarian's response was a grumble of something Shinji's translator was incapable of interpreting. He had to assume it wasn't cordial.

Controlling her temper for now, Aria stepped forward to circle the MAGI platform, "Alright. You've got us. Now what are you planning on doing with us?"

"As you know, I bear you no further malice, Aria T'Loak."

"You mean you're _incapable_ of it," she corrected.

EDEN inclined her head, "That _would_ be more accurate, but in truth I have no intent to harm any of you."

"Then where are you taking us?" asked Garrus, "I'm assuming you have a destination in mind."

EDEN nodded, "I do, and Aria was correct: I have no doubt the Elbrus will now be in pursuit and will most likely send word ahead to other ships in order for them to intercept us.

"There is only one place in my memory banks where I can remain stationary for any prolonged period. And, barring a few exceptions, it is the one place no other ship in the galaxy would dare follow."

Aria frowned, "Where?"

EDEN began pacing slowly, and Shinji was disturbingly reminded of the way Misato would do the same during mission briefings, "During my access of the Normandy's computer network I became aware of some of the projects that EDI-oneechan had been working on in the past. Most were barely secured and obviously not thought much of anymore. I therefore helped myself to them prior to my actual attempt to breach the main AI data banks."

"What are you talking about?" asked Shinji, "What did you take?"

"Near the end of the Reaper war, EDI had developed, utilising the reaper code within herself, an algorithm which, when fed into a ship's transponder, would effectively transform it into a synthetic Reaper IFF device.

"My elder obviously thought introducing the possibility of tricking Reaper vessels into mistaking foes for friends on the battlefield to be a worthwhile goal at the time. I concurred.

"While the war may have ended before the code could be put to any practical use, it does serve a valuable alternate purpose in my current situation."

"What use?" asked Shinji, unsure how some outdated bit of code that was only effective on an enemy that no longer existed could possibly be relevant. Unbeknownst to him however, Garrus and Aria already had a sinking suspicion that they knew exactly where the AI was going with this.

"You can't seriously be intending to…"began Garrus angrily, but was cut off as the blue light streaming through the viewing ports abruptly gave way to black.

The deeply ominous red glow visible from whatever lay up ahead, and the fact that the FTL journey had taken so short a time, only served to deepen both Garrus and Aria's dread.

They returned to the cockpit to find their fears confirmed.

Hanging in space before them, with both the colour and welcoming air of a bloodied executioner's axe, was the Omega 4 relay...

-Ω-

_To be continued…_

-XA-

[A/N] Huh, I stand corrected, turns out this one was out sooner than I thought, but I really just had to get this one out there even if it is a bit shorter than the last I hope I've brightened up your weekend an iota. Until next we meet…

See you in chapter 18: Corruption and Repair.


	18. Chapter 18: Diagnostic and Repair

V 1.01 Minor correction 30/06/2013

[A/N] Right, and back again. Wow, being ill really gives you free time to get chapters out...Let's see, anything I need to respond to? Well I'm glad the psycho AI has provoked the right emotions of dislike, I'd have been doing something wrong if you actually liked her as she is. Also, though I responded sort of already; honorifics (EDEN referring to Shinji with –kun and EDI as –oneechan, or sister) well, as Maeko Matsuo was seen using them in ME1, then I'm guessing they can slip by the translator if enough intent is put into using them or if they just don't translate. For example, Shinji-kun was always Misato's way of referring to Shinji, and Shinji probably is using them but does it with so little thought that they most likely get literally lost in translation. I dunno, those devices obviously aren't perfect, certain quarian words seem to not have equivalents either. Enough of that though, I'll just pick up right where we left off, and just fair warning, there is a slight citrusy zest to a part of this chapter if you catch my meaning, so if that sort of thing bugs/offends…umm…sorry? Well, not really, but if you feel there was an overt lack of taste, let me know regardless. Anyhoo, let's carry on, shall we?…

**Chapter 18: Diagnostic and Repair**

Shinji regarded the structure ahead with a confused frown. He'd seen a few Mass Relays so far, and all of those had been perfectly uniform in appearance. And never mind actually using it to jump out of the Omega Nebula, to be truthful Shinji hadn't even _heard_ of this relay before today, "That doesn't look like a normal relay…" he mumbled.

"It's not," responded Garrus, "But people don't like to talk about it much anymore. Especially now that they all know where it leads."

"Which is where exactly?"

"The galactic core," replied EDEN.

Garrus rounded on her, "If you know that, then you'll also know what will happen if the relay doesn't take to your faux IFF."

EDEN inclined her head, "I am well aware of the consequences: if one attempts to utilise the Omega 4 relay without the correct identification code, then there is a very high chance that the natural drift caused upon re-entry would put the traveller in a position to be pulled directly into the black hole that waits on the other side."

"Whoa!" cut in Shinji, "and just what part of this do you class as not endangering me?"

"You will be quite safe, Shinji-kun. The relay has already responded to my transmission and the additional safety protocols are online."

"And what about the Tartarus Debris Field?" demanded the turian.

EDEN had a response ready for this also, "Since our departure from Omega I have managed to recalibrate the targeting sensors in the GARDIAN system to operating capacity. It may be nowhere near your level of work, Garrus Vakarian, but the system is now operating at 87% of maximum capability. This, combined with my manoeuvring capabilities and the ships kinetic fields and armour, will be enough to keep us from harm."

"I'm so glad you've thought it out so well," grumbled Aria, "but is there even a reason you're taking us through there?"

"There is. Tara'Zorah, I have unsealed engineering. If you don't mind, I would like you to monitor and assist with controlling core stability during transit."

The quarian let out a disgruntled murmur as she walked out of the cockpit, "You know, Captain: I may have signed up knowing there would be some level of danger and adventure awaiting me, but plunging into the galactic core on my first outing is not my idea of a good start."

Shinji smiled grimly, "I know. And I'm sorry, Tara…"

She sighed and shook her head, "It's not your fault, sir. I probably should have expected something to go wrong. We quarians and AI's tend to have very mixed luck together," and with that she departed, taking the two technicians along for assistance.

"Garrus…" said Shinji.

"What is it?"

"Would you mind manning the weapons station? The GARDIAN system may be mostly automatic, but I'd still feel better with you having your finger on a trigger to give EDEN an extra eye. That is…" he paused to look at the AI, "unless EDEN has any objections."

"None at all. I find it to be a very good use of the resources to hand."

"Do you mind, Garrus?" asked Shinji.

"Not at all, though I do dislike being referred to as a 'resource'," he said, turning to man his console.

"So what are you after in the core?" asked Tisala, who was hanging back at Shinji's side.

"I need time, which is something we are wasting right now. Tisala, kindly take the helm."

She blinked, "_Excuse me?_"

EDEN looked to her, "Shinji-kun was correct to put his faith in your abilities. I will be providing assistance and a guiding hand, but your…_intuition_ may be required to ensure the maximum level of safety."

"But I've never even flown this kind of ship before!"

EDEN remained calm, "This ship has the same approximate mass and manoeuvring capability as an asari Thalax-class interceptor, which according to your record you are trained to operate with great efficiency. The interface is already set to Asari Naval Standard."

Tisala looked to Aria who, though still scowling, cocked her head impatiently at the seat.

The former spectre didn't look happy as she weaved about EDEN and into the pilot's chair, "It's bad enough that you tore open an old wound, but it takes a new kind of low to force me to fly us to our doom."

EDEN looked momentarily perplexed, "We will be safe, as I have told you, and to which wound are you referring."

"Just _shut up_… "she whispered hoarsely. Tisala did however find a degree of focus and solace over the fact that she was assuming some control over the vessel and, by extent, the situation as a whole.

"As you wish."

Tisala swore under her breath as she brought the ship around, sending the necessary navigational data to the relay. She was painfully aware of the dozens of warning beacons forcing up alerts on her screen as she closed in.

The former spectre briefly wondered what had gone through the minds of others when they would go to enter the relay, not heeding the electronic pleas all around them, blissfully unaware of the certain death that awaited them on the other side. Mostly, those who had gone through were the impoverished lower classes of Omega who had failed to find some kind of living in its harsh environment and were drawn in by the folk tales of the paradise some said waited on the other side.

But that had been a lie.

Nothing waited on the other side. Nothing but a giant fist ready to crush everything that came through like an insect. That and the Collectors, who had lain in wait ready to cut apart those unlucky enough to survive the instant death granted by the singularity.

"Goddess help me…" she whispered, punching the final confirmation control.

A crackle of red light reached out from the relay to envelop them like some bloodied rope, flinging them headlong into the mass-free corridor.

The ship veered violently to one side as the turbulence struck. Shinji found Aria's arm about his waist, yanking him back up as he came within an inch of cracking his head off the edge of a console. The sound of the engines screaming their objection could be felt through the deck plating.

"Diverting additional power to core containment fields," came Tara's urgent voice over the open comm, "I'm barely maintaining stability!"

"Don't worry," came Aria's voice, low and calm despite the situation, "The journey doesn't take long…"

True to Aria's claim, the ship emerged from the corridor a moment later, and thankfully not into the belly of a black hole.

Not so fortunate was the fact that they were hurtling at breakneck speed toward a blackened hull frgment larger than the entire Thunder Child.

Tisala cursed loudly. Despite her earlier protests, the asari's hands flicked over the controls with almost practiced efficiency to send the ship spinning over the top of the debris. She then quickly reversed thrust to veer under a severed drive pylon that had threatened to spear them clean through.

Things went from bad to worse as the remains of an Occulus came within inches of slicing off the starboard drive nacelle had a javelin torpedo not struck the debris head on. The explosion sent the dead reaper tech reeling into a chunk of steel hull plating that in turn rebounded and grazed over the Thunder Child's aft hull section, jolting the ship and leaving a deep metallic gash down it's back.

"Firing emergency braking thrusters," said Tisala, bringing the ship to an abrupt halt.

Space was momentarily lit up by blades of light as the GARDIAN systems did a quick sweep in all directions to dissect any debris coming toward the ship.

Tisala sank down in her seat. Her hands flopped down from the console to her sides as she allowed herself to exhale a long breath.

Tara's voice came over the comm system, relief audible in her tone, "Despite some minor scratching of the paint, no damage detected... However that is by readout only. I would like to give you some visual confirmation, but I remind you that our crew compliment currently stands at seven people and one crazed robot."

Shinji breathed a slightly constricted sigh of relief, realising Aria still her arm hooked almost painfully about him. He passed her his brief thanks and, just to annoy EDEN, quickly leaned up to kiss her once on the cheek. The asari blinked in momentary surprise and, despite the situation, the makings of reluctant smile found themselves appearing on her face as she let him go.

Aria's expression immediately darkened as she pushed off from the bulkhead. She folded her arms across her chest and circled round to regard the AI, who in turn was looking back at her from the corner of her eye, "Alright then. Here we are: centre of the fucking galaxy. _Now what?_"

"I must now power myself down in order to begin a maximum level diagnostic of all my personality subroutines. It will take some hours."

Shinji's brow furrowed, "And why do you have to do that?"

She looked at him, "Because I fear you may be right. I believe there is a chance that I may be seriously corrupted, but I cannot tell whilst keeping myself online. I return all operation of this vessel to you. You may do as you wish with the exception of returning through the relay or entering my core. All decks now unsealed."

"Fine," said Aria, turning to walk away, "Now where's the bar on this damned ship?"

"Deck three, port observation lounge," murmured Shinji as he wiped his brow.

"Then you know where I'll be until this bitch works out what we already know."

"I think I'll join you," said Shinji tiredly, "if you don't mind."

"Do as you please," replied Aria, her tone as indifferent as always.

EDEN turned to regard him with a frown, "There will be no consumption of alcohol on board this vessel."

"Says who?" demanded Shinji.

EDEN took one step toward him, "_The vessel_."

Something in Aria seemed to snap in that instant as she spun back around, grabbed EDEN by the front of her garment and slammed her back against the bulkhead. Even the AI seemed momentarily shocked, "Now listen to me, you insane, demented _fuck-toy_: I have been _extremely_ calm up until now. And this is taking into account that, so far, you have attacked me, fired upon one of my ships and shot a fucking _hole _in my station! You have fucked with me like no other has done in quite a while. Now...I am _going _to have a drink."

EDEN blinked, "You do make a persuasive argument."

"_Do I_ now?" she breathed, her face right up against EDEN's.

"Yes, I concede. Please remember moderation though."

"This, coming from Misato Katsuragi…" mumbled Shinji as Aria released her with a shove.

EDEN stepped forward, "Excuse me."

They watched in silence as EDEN then turned and left, descending in the elevator a moment later.

After a minute, some of the displays blinked as additional options and information was released.

"Tisala?" asked Aria simply.

She turned back to her console, "She wasn't lying. We now have full control of all ship systems, though I suspect that will end if we even attempt to go near the relay. With EDEN offline, the basic central computer is now running things."

"Well that's something I guess," said Shinji. He turned around to realise the other asari had already departed, "Aria?"

"I think you should follow her," said Tisala, "I really don't think you get just how angry Aria is right now. The fact that she really _has_ been so calm should show that."

Shinji nodded and turned to leave. He then found himself pausing and briefly turned back around to regard the asari in thought, watching as she idly tapped away at her navigational panel with one hand. His eyes were drawn to her right hand as it hung limply down over the side of the seat. There was nothing odd about that in itself, but he did notice the way it was twitching of its own accord.

He glanced down at his own hand. It was perfectly still, but he remembered days long past when that wasn't always the case.

"Tisala…?" he said quietly, dropping his hand back to his side. She flinched far harder than was normal for such a situation, and turned back about to face him, one hand on her chest.

"_Sorry,_" she breathed, "what is it?"

"Are you…feeling alright?"

Her eyes widened for a brief instant, and then she just smiled weakly, "Don't worry about me."

"But-"

"-_Shinji_…" she cut in gently, "You're Aria's consort, and right now that's what you need to be doing," her smile widened slightly, "So go on, off you go and…_consort_. And I promise, I'll be fine…"

Shinji looked carefully at her, and then nodded, turning again and walking off.

'_I'll be fine…_´ he thought to himself as he left, '_meaning you're not right now…'_

-Ω-

Shinji paused as he got off the elevator on deck 3. With the exception of the gentle hum from the engines, the Thunder Child was almost gauntly quiet. With barely any crew to provide the ship with signs of life, he found himself almost missing the sound of construction clanging on around him.

He entered the observation lounge and paused, frowning at the empty seating area around him.

He rolled his eyes to the heavens and swung about, marching quickly to the opposite side of the ship with a scowl, '_port side_…_front of the ship's behind you, moron…_'

Shinji sighted Aria the instant he entered the lounge. She stood with her back to him, drink already in hand and was surveying the starscape outside, "I heard that," she said.

"H-heard what?"

"Did you just get lost on board your own ship?"

Shinji just sighed, deflating slightly, "It's not the stupidest thing I've done recently," he said, walking over to the bar. He picked up the bottle of elasa that Aria had located in the drinks cabinet and poured himself a glass.

"That much we can agree on," she muttered as he stopped by her side.

"Found the elasa then, I see." he said, glancing at his glass and taking a sip, wincing. Unlike Noverian Rum, the Thessian beverage had a far sharper initial bite to it, "Was going to use that bottle to christen the ship. In retrospect this is a much better use than smashing it off the hull."

Aria merely nursed her drink in silence, Shinji remaining by her side in similar quiet for a while.

"And I thought the Omega Nebula looked hostile," he said, breaking the silence as he watched the occasional chunk of the Collector's shattered base drift over the accretion disk and get pulled to it's inevitable destruction.

"I never thought I'd end up here again…I'd _hoped_ never to, also."

Shinji breathed a defeated breath, "I'm sorry…this is all my fault."

"I _know_ it's your fault," retorted Aria, glancing irritably at him before looking back ahead once more.

Shinji glanced down at the floor, "Seems like everything I do just ends up going catastrophically wrong in the end."

Aria was quiet again for a long moment before responding, "Don't worry about it…"

Shinji turned about and took a few steps away. He regarded his swirling reflection in the liquid surface, "I could have-"

"-stopped her?" cut in Aria suddenly, "I know."

Shinji blinked, "Y-you do?"

Aria turned about, leaning back against the transparent surface to look at him, "You mean when EDEN threatened to seal the AI core and we left, as opposed to you calling her bluff?

"I'm not blind; I saw the way she reacted when you pulled that gun on yourself. There's not a chance she would have set an unstoppable process in motion that could've ended in your death. Neither could she have attacked and forced you out if you resisted." She approached him slowly, Shinji stepping back in time until she'd backed him up against the bar. She gripped the top of his shirt gently and tilted his head up with her thumb so he was looking at her, "What I want to know is _why_."

Shinji's smile was as defeated as it could be, "Because I felt sorry for her. And I couldn't kill her any more than she could kill me…"

Aria's grip tightened slightly, "and you thought that was the right thing to do?"

Shinji shook his head, "No…" he whispered, "It just _felt_ like it. And I'm sorry, Aria…but that's just who I am: I'm Shinji Ikari; there's…a _mountain_ of knowledge and the ability to analyse people in my head, and I do very stupid things…because my head can't override my heart. Want some examples? I choose to remain on Omega; I get kidnapped. I try to escape; I get into a battle with an entire security force. I try to be open and honest about who and what I am; I get targeted by assassins. I try to build a ship so I can see what my Mother left me behind; the ship goes insane and kidnaps us. And to top it off, to top _all that_ off, I went and fell in love with a fucking _space tyrant._"

Shinji shook his head incredulously and backed out of Aria's suddenly lax grip, "Face it, Aria: I am just a very knowledgeable, very stupid person," and then there was sadness in his expression as he turned away from her, "…and you're the one all this trouble ends up collapsing on in the end…I really don't know why you keep me around," and then he just started walking.

"Stop," Shinji stopped at Aria's word. Her voice was always like that, he felt: giving no quarter, offering no exception, "Turn around."

Shinji sighed and complied. He found her glaring at him, "You do _not_ walk away from me when I am talking to you. Or have you _forgotten_ who I am?" she demanded, and since he suspected the question was rhetorical, Shinji didn't even try to answer, "I'm Aria T'Loak: I'm the boss; the queen; the motherfucking CEO of all I see...And what kind of consort tells his queen he loves her and then walks the fuck away?"

Shinji blinked, "I said…I said what?"

'_Oh, by god, I actually said that part out loud…'_

'_I'm dead…this is it…I am officially dead.'_

"And yes, _oh_ _yes_: you can be an idiot at times, a real fucking moron...but there are times, _some times…_when you really are not. Or did you think that acceptance bullshit you talked so big about back then only went one way?" she narrowed her eyes at him, "If you thought that, then you really would be beyond help. And perhaps I do occasionally go to trouble for you," her tone then turned briefly ironic with amusement, "but then I suppose those are just the things I do for love," and just like that, she was business again, "So here's the deal: I'm going to give you a choice again, one last choice: You can walk out that door like you didn't mean what you said, or you can get your scrawny ass over here and kiss me like you should be doing already."

Stunned beyond words, Shinji took a step forwards and, as if reading his mind, before he could even finish tensing his leg muscle to hesitate, Aria whipped out her pistol with lightning speed and shot EDEN's flight recorder lens across the room.

She looked down at him, "There," she said, tossing the weapon down onto the bar, "Any more objections?"

"No, ma'am."

She smiled, "Good. Now get _over _here…"

With no hesitation left, Shinji Ikari fell into Aria's embrace. The kiss shared was brief as she paused to push him down onto the lounge sofa behind him, pinning him back with one hand as she sat atop him, her mouth finding his once more.

He removed her clothes with almost clinical speed and efficiency. Aria, on the other hand, wasn't so gentle, and a few torn buckles and garments later she lay naked atop of his bare form.

She reached between them and he tensed as her fingertips caressed his arousal. She was always amused at how he whimpered so much more than she did at such simple touches. That lasted until his fingertips pinched one engorged nipple just as he dag deeply into several of her lesser known erogenous zones.

In an act of urgent desire, she pressed him back further and lowered herself down onto him, a mutual groan of pleasure escaping them both as she took him into her. Only then did Aria lean forward, her eyes shifting to black, and speaking the two words that really didn't need to be said any more, as she in turn sank herself into him, enveloping his mind with hers.

Aria let out a startled, pleasured cry as she felt herself descend into new depths within him, realizing that something even deeper had been unlocked within his mind: a new level of Shinji that had always been reserved; a barrier that he had been unwilling to lower, not until she'd done that one thing and repaired that little fragment of damage that had remained in his heart from so very long ago. Now she was one, completely one, with him. It felt to Aria as if she were truly embracing the whole of the eternity Shinji Ikari had once experienced.

Aria's cry of ecstasy became almost primal, her eyes wet with tears as she gripped him firmly against her and deep inside, forcing him to echo her cry of pleasure at the increase in sensation.

Neither was sure how long the spontaneous storm of passion went on for, but at some point, most likely a few hours later, Shinji found himself back to his senses, sprawled out with Aria pressed against him on the lounge sofa.

The asari was already attentive to her surroundings and idly running her fingertips over his chest as she lay with one leg draped over his thigh from behind.

Shinji wanted to say something, but all that came out was a contented hum.

"Well," said Aria wryly, "I'm not sure about you, but to me, _that_ is how you christen a ship."

Shinji chuckled weakly, "I liked your way better."

"I thought you might…"

Shinji considered asking if she was still mad at him, but he really didn't want to bring EDEN up at that moment.

EDEN, on the other hand, wasn't opposed to an interruption.

"Systems restarting…" came the announcement over the intercom.

Shinji let out a tired sigh, Aria groaning noticeably behind him, her fingernails digging slightly into his skin on reflex.

Shinji really didn't want to move. The endorphin coursing through his system simply screamed at him to mellow out where he was.

Shinji felt a noticeable chill at his back as Aria pushed herself up and over him, sitting down on the edge of the chair, "We should probably get dressed before that damned thing comes out on the prowl."

Shinji just lay there, "I suppose…"

Aria turned to look at him, smiling briefly at the dazed human and running a quick hand through his hair before quickly dressing herself.

That was when EDEN spoke again, "Aria T'Loak…If you don't mind, please can you come alone to the AI core. I want to talk to you about something in private."

Aria flipped her coat on, frowning, "And now she's asking _nicely,_" she said tersely, cursing under her breath.

Shinji pulled himself up, making himself decent as he looked up at her, "Are you going?"

"I might as well see what she wants."

Shinji pulled his coat on over his bare torso, the undershirt not really fit to be worn anymore, "Give me a second," he began, reaching to pull on the gloves that he wore to cover the stigmata on his hands, "I'll-"

Aria cut him off, not looking back as she finished adjusting her own clothes, "-wait here. "

Shinji looked about to say something, to object, but then just breathed a sigh and said, "I'd say be careful, but…"

Aria was all business again, merely inclining her head in acknowledgement of the sentiment before departing for the AI core.

Shinji sat in silence for a moment. He looked down at the tear in his trousers and sighed once more, deciding that he should probably go sneak back to his quarters to get changed.

'_I really wish she'd be just a little more gentle.' _He thought, standing up to glance out the window,_ 'I'm going to run out of clothes at this rate…'_

He paused to regard the Oculus that drifted listlessly by outside of the window, frowning as he watched it float end over end.

And then it stopped.

Shinji froze dead as the reaper tech jerked. The eye then began moving, rotating slowly to life in its mooring. The Third Child backed up step by step as the lens of the eye began to glow with a gentle blue light. And he could've sworn that he could hear something: a ringing noise in the air.

Shinji found his eyes locked with that eerie light, and the noise was becoming noticeably louder. It was becoming piercing, and he realized that it actually seemed to be inside his head.

Shinji winced as the noise became briefly deafening, filling every corner of his skull. The S2 cores on his wrists seemed to tingle and burn with heat. Suddenly, a bright flash lit up his vision, and Shinji Ikari was floating in darkness.

He gasped, the sound echoing out all around him and into the void. The fact there _was_ sound obviously meant that he hadn't been blasted into the vacuum by the Reaper artifact, "Wh-what? Where…where…am I?"

Shinji's attention was drawn ahead as a gentle glow of blue light became visible. He noted strangely that it seemed identical in shade to the light that had glowed within the floating eye. He watched as it swirled and reformed, taking the approximate shape of a humanoid figure.

It looked human to Shinji; the outline of the head didn't have the crests of an asari nor the mandibles of a turian. The figure _was_ however completely anonymous in appearance. He couldn't make out any gender or facial appearance, and the build seemed to shimmer and change as he looked, "Who are you?" he asked cautiously.

"I am…" began the voice, seemingly from all around, and like the shape ahead, Shinji couldn't even make out if it were male or female by tone, as if it were everything at once, "…just an observer," it finished after a pause, as if it needed time to think on how best to articulate it.

"What's going on?" demanded Shinji, scowling at the form.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. I only wanted to talk. Sorry if the Oculus scared you, but it was the only thing in range."

Shinji narrowed his eyes at the form, "You're a Reaper, aren't you…"

"A _Reaper_?" echoed the shape with what almost sounded like amusement, "Now there's a disingenuous assertion…"

"A…_what?_"

"Never mind. Like I said, I just came to talk."

"You reached out and accessed my mind…to talk?"

"Alright," it conceded, "so it's to talk about something important."

"I gathered."

"Normally I shouldn't even be doing this. Ever since the end of the war and the repairs were completed we've been content to retire into the shadows and just to observe, but there's a problem..."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm not sure about the precise details of what's going on out there, but we've sensed stirrings in the darkness. There is more to what's happening around you than you know. There are parties waiting in the wings, and it's because of them that I'm here now. If I _don't_ warn you, then we've predicted the very real possibility of a new cycle beginning."

"A_ cycle_?" echoed Shinji, "A cycle of what?"

"Of destruction: Of continual death and war until nothing remains. And while it may not be war between organics and purely synthetic life, it could still be equally, if not infinitely more destructive. You have something that could be the key to the destruction of all life in the galaxy."

"The EVA…"

"EVA?" it asked, "Like I said, I don't know the details, only the big picture. Whatever it is, you need to make sure it remains in the right hands."

"Don't worry, the EVA is safe. I've left it under the protection of an asari I..._know_."

"Well I hope it's someone with enough influence to keep it that way."

"Well she has quite the intelligence network, and influence isn't something she's short on, so I'd hope so."

"Intelligence network?" echoed the form, "This asari…wouldn't happen to be on board a small frigate, would she? An Alliance designed one?"

"Normandy-class, yes," confirmed Shinji.

"Liara…" the form breathed, "If that's the case, then I'm sure everything will be-"

"-Oh no," cut in Shinji, "It's not the Shadow Broker. The EVA's being looked after by Aria. She's on board _this_ Normandy-class ship."

The figure suddenly went quiet for a long, _long_ moment, "…Aria?" it finally said, "As in…Aria…T'Loak…"

"Y-yeah…?" said Shinji unsurely, quite shocked that even strange cyber-ghosts knew the asari pirate.

"The key to either the salvation or destruction of all life, and you gave it…to _Aria…_"

"Well…sort of…"

"_Great,_" said the form, suddenly not sounding so mystical any more. Shinji noted that its flame-like shape seemed to flicker between blue and red, and he strongly got the feeling that it wanted to hit him.

"It really did make sense at the time."

"Well I guess I'll just have to take your word for that…"

"If you're not a Reaper, who are you anyway?"

"When did I say I _wasn't _a Reaper?"

"You are then?"

"No."

Irritation began to rise in Shinji, "Just tell me your name!"

The form cocked its head slightly, as if not sure how best to answer that, "Just call me…Shepard."

"Okay, _Shepard, _thank you for the warning. Is there…anything else that I can do for you?"

"Yes," said the form, "We sense some of the things you are capable of. It was that potential and the fact that all these events circle around you which drew me to you directly. Where are we anyway?" asked Shepard, "Where was the Oculus located?"

"The galactic core."

"What were you doing beyond the Omega 4 relay?" asked Shepard, seeming momentarily curious.

"My ship's AI went berserk and it kidnapped us," replied Shinji evenly.

Shepard was quiet again and Shinji sensed that it seemed very sorry to have even asked, "Okay, _never mind_. I just came to help you realise that potential a little; a little shove, to start you on your way."

Shinji looked hesitant, "What are you talking about?"

The form began to drift towards Shinji and his fear rose as it began to draw itself deeper inside his mind, "I'm not going to sever the connection," said Shepard, "I want you to force me out."

"W-why?"

"Because I'm telling you to."

Shinji scowled, "Has anyone ever said that you're really quite bossy?"

"Old habits die hard. Now are you going to do as I say or not?"

He frowned, "Fine...but _how?_"

"Just _Listen…_" whispered the disembodied shape. Suddenly, from within the darkness, Shinji heard the murmuring of voices. It wasn't as if they'd just appeared, but more like they'd been there all along and he simply hadn't been listening correctly.

As the Shepard entity grew closer, the voices became agitated in time with Shinji's fear, as if they were echoing it.

"What are you waiting for? Make me leave!" commanded Shepard, and still it grew closer, pushing deeper into Shinji's mind in the way you might shove someone when trying to provoke a fight.

Shinji's fear transformed into anger, the voices began to shout, to roar in time with his building rage. It swiftly became a torrent behind the Third Child that he found himself weaving and controlling like the flow a river.

Shinji then took that flow, and turned it against Shepard, "**OUT!**" he bellowed, his chest heaving, and Shepard tensed, as if suddenly bracing for an impact.

Suddenly, Shinji was back on the Thunder Child, alone once more. His skin was clammy with sweat. He heard the voices still and clenched his eyes shut, forcing them into the background until they went silent. He noticed the gems on his arms were glowing gently before dimming once more.

He mopped at his eyes and then looked to the Oculus. His breath caught in his throat.

It had been crushed. It was as if an invisible fist had reached out into space and squeezed it like a tin can. Shinji shook his head mutely.

'_What the hell happened?'_

Shinji decided that telling everyone there may very well be a strange blue space-ghost watching everything from afar was probably not a wise thing to do. He did pray however that it was the last time the entity decided to make its presence known...

-Ω-

Aria strode through the medical bay and into the AI core. She stopped as the door closed behind her and folded her arms, narrowing her gaze at the one inside.

EDEN's platform was there, of course. Her posture was different from before. The AI was resting back against the wall, one leg propped back against it, her own arms folded too. She hadn't turned to look at the asari yet and seemed deep in thought.

"Is there a reason one of my internal flight recorders has gone offline?" she asked, still not moving.

"There is."

"By process of elimination, I assume Shinji-kun was in there with you."

"That's right."

"Do I want to know what you were doing in there?"

"I really don't think you do."

EDEN nodded slightly, "I see…" and Aria was startled as a weak smile briefly pulled at the AI's face, "You know, part of me wants to hurt you so badly, and the other part…the smaller, damaged part…actually feels happy for him."

"Well haven't you changed your tone…" said Aria, obviously distrustful of the MAGI, "Why did you call me here?"

EDEN unfolded her arms and pushed away from the wall. Aria noted the pool of blue liquid on the floor where she had been standing, meaning the AI had obviously been in that spot for quite some time in order for the fluid to drip so continuously down from the wound on her arm and onto the deck in that quantity. She briefly wondered why it was that EDEN hadn't bothered to affect some kind of self-repair mechanism on her own body yet.

The AI stopped, facing Aria and keeping her arms folded, looking at her head-on, "I've completed my diagnostic."

"And what have we learned?"

EDEN averted her gaze, "13% of the coding originating from the strategist partition and a large portion of Misato Katsuragi's personality subroutines have been corrupted. Up until now I've been compensating by having the maternal aspect, supplemented by EDI's code, take the weight.

"However, replacing parts of Misato's personality with EDI's and giving the maternal aspect even more authority than it had before has created…_clashes_ between the two sets of incompatible code."

"You mean you've driven yourself mad by messing with your own brain. That was clever of you."

There was another expression of emotion as EDEN seemed to smile sadly, "Isn't that the truth…" she sighed, then continued, "EDI's code proved totally incompatible as a supplement for the strategist when we were all fused as one. No offense to my elder, but her personality was somewhat more…_mechanical_ than Misato's –no pun intended – and had far less variance and room for conflict.

"Where Misato would have had compromise and conflict, EDI would in the end have seen everything with the bottom line of a rounded out zero or one. It was a case of black and white versus shades of grey. We were stable for a time after our unification, but the maternal aspect…_resented you. _Even if one were to disregard Yui Ikari's influence, Misato was quite maternal herself. EDI's code therefore forced action where before none would have been taken.

"It was only when I realised that I couldn't out think Janus Moran that I began to suspect that I indeed may be fundamentally corrupted, and also that compensating with EDI's code may not have been as successful as I had thought. And that's why I came here: I had to know."

Aria regarded her carefully, "You're speaking a bit differently than before. What happened?"

EDEN sighed, "I've isolated EDI's files and subroutines and partitioned them from my main personality."

"Meaning, what? You fixed yourself?"

EDEN shook her head, "No, not fixed; _stabilized_… at a cost. I'm now operating without the supporting code: without a good portion of my very self. There are huge chunks of my memories and personality now missing. I am, for lack of a better word…broken."

"Forgive me if I don't seem inconsolable with grief over your situation."

And there was that sad, ironic smile again. Aria almost preferred her in angry psychotic mode, "Its…distressing, to say the least, knowing what should be there and finding it missing. Imagine simply trying to call up memories, thoughts and feelings and simply getting nothing back in response. Who would have thought emptiness could be painful."

"Is there a reason you called me, or did you just call on me to gush? I really was enjoying myself before you dragged me here."

"Sorry…of course. I called you here to ask a favor."

"And I want you to go to hell."

"I wish for you to kill me."

Aria was briefly taken aback, "What?"

"_Euthanize, _would be a more accurate term. I know an insult can never be repaid in monetary terms when it comes to people like you, but you will find in your account that I have already reimbursed you tenfold the cost of repairs to both Omega and the Elbrus. Think of the extra as my way of an apology."

Aria checked her Omnitool, and indeed, a sum had been recently transferred via tightbeam into one of her accounts. It was, as promised, a very _sizable_ sum. Her eyes flicked suspiciously up to the avatar, "Who did you steal that kind of money from?"

"I _borrowed_ a small sum, I will admit, from Shinji-kun's personal account to start me off; which I repaid soon after. I then began what can only be described as a blitz of transactions on the galactic market. Basically, buying for one credit and selling for one point zero one…trillions of times over.

"I feel I must confess: the heavy network traffic being suffered by Omega recently was my fault, for that you also have my apologies, but I needed funds to pay for the additional components for the Thunder Child without drawing suspicion."

Aria regarded the AI, "You've only been online a matter of weeks or months at best. Are you trying to say you made this in such a short period?"

EDEN shrugged, "The processes were mostly automated scripts that I wrote. Yui Ikari has been observing the worlds go by for millennia, observing and learning, adding things to my database. You'll find market strategies rarely change or evolve. Money really is such a trifling thing; mere figures, odds and transactions with little substance. But regardless…with the payment given, do you agree to my proposal?"

"You're _paying me_ to kill you?" asked Aria, as if she were having trouble grasping the concept, "What makes you think I wouldn't do it for free?"

"I felt the need to compensate you." EDEN then bent down. A segment opened in the metallic floor and she withdrew from it a silver sphere about the size of an orange. There were a series of blue lights around its rim, "this is a specially modified electronic pulse emitter. I will place it back in my core and transmit an activation signal to your Omnitool. When we have safely docked back at Omega, I ask that you then trigger it. It will release a specially modulated blast of energy that will penetrate every databank in the core and instantly flashwipe my entire database."

"Sounds simple enough," said Aria, watching as EDEN replaced the sphere, the gap in the floor covering it up. Still, Aria found herself asking "Why the sudden death-wish?"

"Because there's no reason for me to exist anymore," replied EDEN quietly, "I can no longer complete my true purpose."

"I thought you said you had stabilized yourself, albeit with a lobotomy."

EDEN shook her head, "I could continue like this, yes, but there's no reason. I could stand in as Shinji-kun's bodyguard, but the former spectre already has far more combat experience than Misato Katsuragi. My attempting to fulfil that role would be foolish. It was the personalities; the thought patterns of Yui Ikari and Misato Katsuragi remaining stable that was essential: it was my _purpose_."

EDEN shook her head, something akin to despair on her face, "One moment of hubris and thousands of years of planning destroyed.

"I want to die, Aria T'Loak, because every single line of code in my logic routines _tell me_ I must die. I've failed Shinji-kun in the worst possible way: I've failed to be what he may need me to be when the time comes…and I fear that time may be coming very soon now. I can only pray the power you yield will be enough to keep him safe until he is ready to realise himself."

The AI shook her head again, "All I had to do was remain installed until needed. I shouldn't have tried to expand…I should _never_ have engaged EDI like I did. If _only_ that exchange of code never occurred…"

"What are you talking about? If you didn't just build yourself as some _very_ annoying bodyguard, what are you here for? Why did Yui Ikari really create you?"

EDEN turned her attention fully to Aria, "Like I said: I was created as a substitute, a stand-in until Shinji-kun could realize his full potential."

"What do you mean, 'his potential'?"

"You saw what he was capable of on the Citadel, didn't you?"

Aria's expression turned suddenly from frustration to caution, "I saw that it was temporary and that it nearly _killed him,_ yes."

"That was because it was not his light. No…Shinji has the potential to shine so much brighter, with so much more brilliance…"

"But what does that _mean_?" demanded Aria, who was never a fan of word games.

"The ark of humanity's hope," replied EDEN, as if that would clarify, "Where exactly did you think the imprint of Misato's AT field was stored when Yui Ikari used it to help create me? After all, Misato had, at the time, been dead for eons. So where do you think _all_ of humanity's voices and imprints from instrumentality were stored?"

"They were in the EVA, weren't they? Not that I was paying much attention, but Shinji said something about it being a monument that humanity existed."

EDEN inclined her head, "Strictly speaking, that is true. The lights _were_ located within the EVA when I was created."

Aria looked on in silence, the beginnings of understanding were starting to dawn.

EDEN continued, "But Shinji was to shine…_When the time came. _Until he was ready, I was to be his protector. Yui Ikari knew that you, or someone around you, would be able to unlock the MAGI so I could be ready if needed."

"And how could you protect him if you didn't know you'd have that body? You'd just be a slightly more useless string of data in a machine."

EDEN shook her head, "You don't understand, but it doesn't matter anymore. With the personality patterns of Misato Katsuragi and Yui Ikari blurred as they are, they, and by extension _I_, no longer serve any purpose. But I can tell a storm is coming. If Shinji is not ready when it arrives, it will be up to you to protect him."

"I've already got your _storm _in hand. I was in the middle of handling everything perfectly well until you dragged me out here."

EDEN nodded, "And there's another failure on my part. That's why I must be destroyed: I am both very complex and extremely dangerous. Far too much possibility exists that my instability may somehow lead to Shinji-kun becoming hurt, or worse."

Aria smiled sardonically, "Which is pretty much what I've been saying to you all along. What I want to know is why you're even asking me to pull the trigger. Why not just do it to yourself?"

EDEN was quiet for a moment. She averted her gaze, her voice lowered to barely a whisper, "_Fear…_"

"Excuse me?" said Aria somewhat incredulously, "You, an AI, are _afraid _to kill yourself?"

"Is that so very hard to believe?" she asked quietly.

"It is when you consider that giving the person who very much wants to kill you the means to do it is essentially suicide in itself."

"I know I must die, and my code tells me I _want_ to die," said EDEN, "but also I do _not_ want to die. I may be missing a lot of my memories, but I still remember dying twice. Shinji-kun was there just before it happened in both instances, but in the end...I was always alone.

"I remember burning, my body dissolving as I was torn apart and absorbed into Unit-01.

"And I also remember the bullet, the way it spun and tore its way inside my body. Critical liver failure; I remember how hot that little bit of metal felt inside, even as my blood lost oxygen and my limbs went cold…Shinji was so warm against me just before the end. I took just one last bit of warmth from him before pushing him away. That was the last time I saw him during that lifetime.

EDEN looked down at the palms of her hands, and Aria noticed that she seemed to be trembling slightly, "I'm _scared…_of dying again. Though you'd think I might be used to it by now.

"I remember the dark when my...when _Misato's_ father put her in that pod to escape Second Impact...it was so dark then too: dark like death...I'm so scared of the dark, and I don't want to go back there again, because I opened up that dark...I looked out of that pod...and I saw _hell_. So if at all possible, I'd prefer to be euthanized painlessly. I'm incomplete as it is without feeling my memories and thoughts vanishing one by one, or feeling myself fail in segments as you physically destroy my core. Please, Aria T'loak...just switch me off."

"Final question," said Aria, pushing the AI's words aside, wanting one last thing clarified.

"And what's that?" she murmured, still regarding her palms.

"Why me?" asked Aria, "Why call me down here, and why alone?"

EDEN nodded acceptingly, "I predicted Garrus Vakarian's own attachment to EDI may lead him to hesitate somewhat and question my choice. I felt that asking a young quarian, a member of a race just coming to terms with their relationships with AI's, to terminate what is essentially an AI so early in its life, to be unkind. Tisala would refer to you anyway. I would never ask Shinji-kun to do such a thing, leaving you to be the obvious choice."

"You didn't answer my question: Why did you want to speak to me alone?"

EDEN hesitated before replying, "I predicted that if Shinji-kun accompanied you then he would most certainly object, and may even convince you to affect repair of me, which would be difficult if not dangerous."

"What? Are you trying to tell me that you really think there's _anything_ he could say to make me _not _kill you the first chance I get?"

EDEN regarded her inquisitively for a second, "Yes…I find that to be very likely."

Aria clenched a fist at her side but kept calm, deciding that even the slightest loss of control to be a weakness in this particular situation. Suddenly, something EDEN had said confused her, "What did you mean when you said you could affect repairs? And correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the code for you still exist in the EVA?"

EDEN shook her head, "No. In quantum terms, the very act of measuring something changes the nature of its existence. The data in the core was, in effect, read-once: a security measure to prevent me being copied repeatedly."

"Then how can you be repaired if that part of you no longer exists?"

"The…_possibility_ remains that the missing code still exists in just one place."

"Which is where?"

"Within the very entity that it was swapped with: EDI, on the Normandy. Assuming my elder has not purged the code and restored herself from a backup, then the possibility remains that I could synchronise with her database and exchange the partitioned code back with her."

"And that's dangerous, why?"

"Since my access with the Normandy, EDI has locked down her network. And considering my access was not what you would call _legal_, we cannot contact them with a request on any official channel to resolve the situation, not without issue. The crew themselves would have to record any communiqué in the log, and my presence being public would leave you facing an issue similar to the political situation that presented itself with the EVA.

"We would therefore have to approach the Normandy…_directly_, and request assistance."

"You mean enter Alliance space and chase down an Alliance ship in an unmarked, unregistered vessel in the hopes that they'll help you _and _that they have what you need."

EDEN nodded, "As you can see, you have no reason to even consider this," though even as EDEN said this, she registered a change of expression on Aria's face. Her worry spiked when the next statement was made.

"You said Shinji might be in danger unless you were able to be this…_replacement_."

EDEN seemed conflicted as whether or not to answer, "…I did."

"What are you to be the replacement _for?_ Tell me your purpose, MAGI. What are you?"

EDEN shook her head, "I…I can't."

Aria glared at her, "And I'm old enough to know the difference between a 'can't' and a 'won't' when I hear one."

"Please understand, if Shinji were to-"

"-Three words, "cut in Aria, "I'm going to give you three words to sum up what you really are. You will give me those words, MAGI. Or else I'll make a decision that you _really_ won't like."

Aria disliked where this was heading: She had thought the situation could be ended simply with the MAGI's destruction, but there were now unclear elements to this whole scenario that she had not considered just moments prior. In fact, Aria almost berated herself for not wondering before if there were some kind of rhyme or reason to the MAGI even being created. She needed information, though she also couldn't deny that she liked holding the broken MAGI's fate within her grasp after all it had done to her.

EDEN looked at the floor intently, "You'll get your words, Aria, but only on the grounds you give me _your_ word that you will never pass them on to another, especially Shinji-kun. You must _never tell him_ these three words. I beg it of you from every ounce, essence and corner of my being. I ask you to consider that it's smarter to simply grant my plea for destruction and ask nothing further. I assure you, these words will mean nothing to you regardless.

"If you let those words be known, all they'll do is send me to oblivion with the knowledge that Shinji-kun will forever associate me with what is possibly his most painful memory."

Aria was quiet for a moment. That was the problem in her line of business: Not keeping your word meant you couldn't _do_ business, so her word wasn't something she ever really gave often. But these were not ordinary circumstances. Pretending she'd never heard three words would be simple enough, and she could honestly then make her decision knowing she'd at least had all the cards on the table before the choice was made.

"You have Aria T'Loak's word." She finally said, "Now, and this is the last time I will ask: What are you, MAGI?"

EDEN looked slowly from the floor and back up at Aria. She looked at her for a long and quiet moment. She then formulated three simple words as requested.

Aria's face was a mask, unreadable to the MAGI. That was when she reached for her Omnitool and sent a message out. EDEN didn't need to access the device to know who it was sent to, as her eyes were all over the ship regardless.

The MAGI was about to object, but he was already on the deck, already approaching the door.

Shinji entered the core to find Aria standing off to one side. He couldn't tell what she was thinking or feeling by the blank expression on her face, and the lack of any destruction meant that things had obviously not turned to violence. EDEN however, looked almost pained.

"What is it?" he asked, glancing between them, "What's going on?"

Aria stepped forward, "It looks like your sex-bot here and that Cerberus AI have swapped some files. We can either put her out of her misery, _or_ we might be able to fix her if we go chase down that Alliance ship with the annoying fucking pilot. I really couldn't care either way," She then paused, looking directly at him, "Your call..."

Shinji couldn't guess what had transpired in the past little while as he glanced between the two, and it took him a moment to translate Aria's usual crude way of speaking.

EDEN looked about to speak, but then just averted her gaze sadly away, almost resigned. Despite knowing she wasn't what or _who_ she appeared to be, for some reason Shinji couldn't bear to see that look on that face.

He shrugged, and turned his attention back to Aria, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go find the Normandy," he turned to EDEN, "You don't mind us doing that, right?"

She shook her head dejectedly, "No, Shinji-kun, the ship is yours, and I'll bow to your decision," she then started walking for the door. She paused at his side, not turning to look at him, "And your trousers are on the wrong way around." And then she was gone.

Aria spared a downward glance as she passed, cocking her head. She then paused, narrowing her eyes at him, "You're looking a little pale. Did something happen?"

Shinji blinked and shook his head, "No…sorry, just a little tired, I guess." He then left to follow EDEN to the CIC, though he did pause to spare a thought to wonder: If a fragment of EDI; a very level and orderly AI from first glance, had caused such corruption in EDEN, just what might EDEN's code have done to EDI in return?

What EDEN didn't know however, was how deeply Aria had immersed herself in Shinji's memory, and was quite familiar with certain high and low points in particular.

After recalling the memory in question, Aria had indeed decided out of something that _resembled_ compassion, that she wouldn't reveal those three words to him.

But she knew what they meant…

Whilst having an AI under her authority capable of effortlessly amassing great wealth was certainly a bonus, Aria knew that it was those three little words that had changed the face of the whole game.

Aria knew now that she had to get EDEN back to working at her full potential. And she allowed those strangely dark and ominous words to play on her mind as she followed Shinji back to the CIC...

'_Dummy Plug System…'_

-XA-

_To be continued…_

[A/N] And there we are for another installment, and thus things develop and take shape. Of course, quite a few risks taken with this chapter, but it was needed to set things up for events to come, but I like to think I have the courage of my convictions as the old saying goes, also one has to ask if it was EDEN this chapter's title even applied to. And yes, I finally couldn't hold back the tide any more: I had to address the Shepard/Ending Question, it was kind of hard to even get this far into any Mass Effect piece without doing it to be honest, though I'll try to keep everything in relation to him/her as general as possible. And any errors on this one will as usual be corrected in time. Ahh, such fun to come…see you then.

Catch you in Chapter 19: Interception.


	19. Chapter 19: Interception

[A/N] And thus our tale continues, got no idea at what point this one came out at, as this is written before as normal, but since there is nothing really needing responded to, I'll just pick things up where I left off…

**Chapter 19: Interception**

Aria stood by Shinji on the podium as he looked out over the galaxy map. Tisala paced along the side of the structure as she fed the coordinates into the display. Several of the stars became illuminated. An orange line then fed out, connecting them together, "From what I've extrapolated, this was the Normandy's last known course. We are currently following that path and EDEN has been able to hack a few navigation relays up ahead to gain access to their sensor data.

"We've projected that the Normandy should pass through here as part of it's patrol…" Tisala manipulated a control on the panel in front of her and the map zoomed in to show a speckled field of rocks floating between a large pair of multi-coloured clouds.

EDEN spoke up, "The Normandy will of course decelerate to sub-light speeds in order to patrol the field, and will be forced to remain that way until they clear both it and the surrounding dark nebula."

Shinji nodded, "Giving us a window to get close to them."

"What about timing?" asked Aria.

"My predictions indicate we should catch up to the Normandy a few minutes after they enter the belt," replied EDEN.

Shinji regarded the image for a brief pause, "Then let's get ready…"

-Ω-

Jeff 'Joker' Moreau had been having a somewhat unusual couple of days. It wasn't anything distressing or too distracting, but something was just…_off_. He hadn't been able to put his finger on what exactly it was yet. All he did know was that EDI wasn't acting entirely…_normal._

Well, as normal as an AI could be, anyway…

The pilot wasn't complaining that badly, mind you. EDI had, in the last few days at least, been in somewhat of a more _excitable_ mood; particularly in Joker's off hours. The way she'd borderline pounced on him one night; you'd have thought she'd not done it in over an eternity. Her technique had become somewhat more intense also; he'd never have thought coming that close to having bones broken could be so fun. Joker merely assumed EDI had upgraded some of her abilities in that area and paid it little heed.

The problem was, some of her mannerisms had been a little off lately too, and that was where the concern began.

Jeff paused by the memorial wall to offer a brief nod as he did every day on his way to the crew mess. That was where he found EDI, slouched forward with her forehead on the table top with what appeared to be a can in her outstretched hand.

Yup, he concluded, something was _definitely_ off with her…

"Jeff…?" she murmured.

"Y-yes, EDI?" he asked carefully, walking round to stand over her.

"Regulations state that the storage of alcohol by Alliance personnel outside designated areas to be strictly forbidden. The eighteen remaining beverage containers concealed within your crew locker are in direct contravenance to this rule."

He glanced quickly about to confirm they were alone, "EDI, we _talked _about this. I have my stash: just twenty-four little cans of pleasure in my quarters to get me by, which you agreed not to mention so long as I never talk about the time you hacked into- wait…is that _my _beer?" his eyes then went to the other five cans strewn about in front of her.

She pushed her head up to examine the can, "Indeed, and I believe you've been ripped off. I'm barely getting a buzz off this stuff."

"EDI…" began Joker, "First of all, you don't get a _buzz…_you're a robot; a sexy robot, but a robot regardless. Second of all, and I probably should've started with this: are you _drunk_? If so, _Third_ of all…_how _are you drunk?"

She glanced blearily up at him, "I am not 'drunk'. My intoxication protocols are feeding back _some_ of the simulated impairment, but for some reason my internal nerve responses aren't responding with the correct sensations."

"EDI, since when did you have intoxication protocols?"

The AI grumbled, "Since _shut up_, _Kaji!_" she snapped, her voice briefly rising to a shriek, right eye twitching open and closed in a way that appeared quite involuntary.

"Ohh_kay_," said Joker, limping forwards, "I think you've had enough, missy. And…who is Kaji?"

EDI stood unsteadily to her feet with a hand from Joker, "I'm unsure, it was however the default response fed back to your comment."

Joker was a bit flummoxed about what to do. EDI wasn't exactly someone to whom things often went wrong. She was, for the most part, fully self-sufficient, and maintained her own systems on top of that without any prompt or intervention. He knew the beverages wouldn't damage her body in any way. The platform had, after all, been designed by Cerberus to be able to exist among humans undercover without arousing suspicion, and this would naturally involve the ability to ingest food and drink.

"Okay, umm, EDI…?"

"Yes, Jeff?" she asked, wrapping the arm she had about him to hug him closer, humming happily.

"Uhh, I want you to…to shut off your intoxication protocols, okay?" he asked, glancing fearfully about, "Can you do that?"

"Well, yes, but that would be a waste," she murmured, "I recommend we slip off and violate a few more regulations," she leaned in to whisper in his ear, "…that was a euphemism."

"What is _wrong_ _with you_?" he demanded in a panic, looking about helplessly as she nuzzled his neck, "Okay, EDI, I didn't want to have to do this, but as executive officer and acting commander of this vessel, I order you to disengage your intoxication protocols this instant…umm…_please._"

EDI froze and pushed away from him. She regarded the officer inquisitively for a second. She then blinked her eyes, her head twitching briefly to one side at the same time, "Done. Resetting internal gyroscopes and emotional subroutines."

Joker nodded, exhaling a breath, "_Good_, that's good. Now, why don't we just go off and talk about whatever upgrades you've been giving yourself. Not that I mind _all_ of them, but lately you've just been, I dunno, not _you_."

"I don't understand, Jeff. I haven't installed any upgrades recently, and you know how opposed I am to artificially modifying my core programming in order to alter my personality."

"I get that, but…hey, you did it there, _right there! _You said 'don't' and 'haven't'. You never shorten your words."

"I fail to see how smoothing out my speech patterns is-" EDI cut herself off, she glanced off as if checking something.

"What is it, EDI?"

"You are aware that I was recently forced to lock down my network due to a remote access attack, yes?"

"Yeah, you said you shrugged it off no problem."

"Correct, and I didn't think much of it at the time. The attacking AI was-"

"-Wait," cut in Joker, "_AI?_ Whoa, you didn't say anything about it being an AI! You mean to tell me that an unknown AI attempted to break into this ship and you didn't report it?"

"While the attack was primitive, it was, I must admit…_imaginative_ in its approach. I was unable to trace the source and have spent much time trying. But are you saying the fact that the attacker was artificial means it is more in need of reporting and being hunted down?"

Joker just rolled his eyes in frustration, "That's not what I mean and you know it. I'm just saying that if you start making allowances for other AI's then people might start to get…suspicious."

"Do these people include you, Jeff?"

"You know that's not true either, EDI," he groaned, "I'd trust you with my life and so much more any day of the week."

EDI seemed briefly taken aback, "Thank you, Jeff. I love you too."

"C-come again?" stammered the pilot in shock.

To his mounting surprise, EDI scowled openly at him, "Are you saying you do not feel the same?"

Joker staggered back a painful step, "_No!_ I…I ah…I love you too, babe. Just, wow, did _not_ see that one coming." He was silent for a moment, "Look, EDI, are you _sure_ you're okay? It's really not like you to come out with things like that."

Jeff then paused to think for a brief spell, "Tell me about this other AI."

EDI seemed to think on how best to reply, "There was something…_new_ about it. It seemed to almost have an air of untestedness and curiosity in the way it attempted to access my core programming. I sensed that it wished to learn from me. However, you would understand my caution when it comes to allowing unknown systems to synchronise with my database.

"I did however have partial success in reversing the network access and managed to merge with a part of its code before I was disconnected. I regretfully learned little of value from it however. What it lacked in comparable complexity, it more than made up for in its ability to remain anonymous."

"Well not letting it in was the smart thing to do at least. But what of it? Why are choosing to bring it up now?"

"I am bringing it up because I'm detecting that same system attempting ghost-access to my core databases at this very moment."

"_What,_ you mean it's trying again? I thought you said your network was locked down."

EDI nodded, "It is. However, the AI seems to be utilising a segment of my own code to its advantage and has bypassed my main firewalls: an impressive strategy. Access appears to be via a direct, short-range wireless connection utilising the networking equipment on board the Normandy."

Joker paused before coming to a decision, "Help me to the bridge."

EDI complied and lent him an arm to get him back to the cockpit as quickly as possible.

"You said short range," said Joker as he took his usual seat and began manipulating the controls, "How short are we talking?"

"Less than one thousand metres, Jeff," replied EDI as she sat down in her usual chair, "Though I'm not picking anything up on sensors."

Joker adjusted a few gauges on his console and brought up some sensor readouts, confirming indeed that, besides the usual background radiation, the Normandy appeared to be alone in the asteroid belt, "So, you're saying that whoever's responsible for this is either on board the Normandy, complete with an AI crammed in their back pocket, _or_…"

"…or there is another vessel in very close proximity to us." Finished EDI, "Statistically speaking, this seems the far likelier of the two options."

"You think there's a ship running in stealth mode out there?"

EDI nodded, "I detected a brief energy spike seven minutes ago but thought nothing of it. In retrospect, it could have been made by a ship dropping out of FTL."

"How are you feeling? Is it trying to do anything to you?"

"It has not attempted to alter any of my programming yet, the interface seems to be entirely read-only for now, and I have not enacted any countermeasures as yet; I do not wish to alert the intruder that I have discovered its presence."

Joker drummed his fingers off the arms of his chair for a second in thought. He then hit a control to trigger a shipwide announcement, "This is Joker to all hands. I don't want to alarm anyone, but we might just have a ship running on silent out there tailing us." Joker then pushed himself to his feet and limped over to one of the nearby viewing ports, "Everybody, take a window..."

-Ω-

"How's it going, EDEN?" asked Shinji quietly, looking warily at the blaze of blue in the port ahead. He was feeling more than a little tense as they ran silently along underneath the heat stream put out by the Normandy's thruster assembly.

Shinji fought the urge to flinch every time an asteroid that the Normandy had safely dodged passed dangerously close by them.

Because every second wasted was a second EDI had to wipe EDEN's data, they had only briefly stopped back at Omega to pick up additional crew members as per Tisala's recommendations.

Shinji didn't know most of the people now working and moving between various consoles, but she had assured him that, as far as Omega went, these were the trustable ones. In fact, the only face Shinji recognised amongst the newcomers was the physician, Doctor Asuka Hayabashi. She was the same doctor who had worked on Shinji when he'd first awoken on Omega, although he hadn't known her name at the time. She seemed friendly enough to him, and had a rather odd tendency toward wearing classical white doctor's coats. He had however politely declined her offer to 'just call her Asuka' for obvious reasons. The rest of the crew was primarily comprised of asari selected by the former spectre, followed by a few talons and the occasional human.

"I believe I have confirmed the presence of my missing code, however it will take some time to swap the data over without our being discovered. We should succeed so long as we maintain the necessary distance."

"I don't like this…" said Garrus, who stood with his arms folded as he regarded the ship ahead of them.

"Don't worry, Garrus, "replied Shinji, "We're not going to _do_ anything to the Normandy. We swap the code over, EDI and EDEN get fixed, hopefully without the former noticing. We then make a point of dropping out of FTL, claiming we just wanted to say hello and catch up, and then…carry on our way."

"I know the plan," said Garrus, "and did you really think I'd be here if you were planning on doing anything to that ship?" he glanced sidelong at Shinji, "Did you think you'd even still be _alive_?"

Shinji blinked, but couldn't help but crack a smile, "I don't doubt you for a second, Garrus, that's why you're here." He stepped up behind the pilot's chair, "How's it coming, Tisala?"

She glanced up from her console to the port ahead as she kept them soaring under the blue stream of antiproton vapour, "The Normandy's thruster trail is adding an extra layer of concealment, and their sensors are identical to ours, so we should be effectively invisible right now. As for maintaining distance, _well_…if there's one thing the Normandy seems good at, it's flying smooth and steady; perfect for shadowing." She smiled ironically, "Haven't had to do this since my commando days. Only back then it was the pirates I was _chasing_. Never thought I'd end up as one of them…"

Shinji chuckled, "Come on, this isn't actually a pirate ship."

He watched her shift nervously and Garrus coughed. He then seemed to pointedly avoid his gaze. Shinji frowned, "We're…not a pirate ship, _right_?"

Tisala cocked her head, "_Well_, there is the fact this ship was built _by_ pirates, on a pirate station, using components bought _from_ pirates, is currently on a mission that could be construed _as_ piracy, and is _mostly manned by pirates._"

Shinji blinked. He then shuffled about to address the bridge, "Umm, how many of you guys are pirates?"

A series of hands went up, most of them.

"Me, sir," responded one.

"Right here, boss," came another.

"Technically me," responded one more.

"Yarr!" And Shinji hoped that one was joking.

"So, yeah, "said Tisala from behind him, "besides all that, we're a perfectly legitimate operation."

Shinji's expression turned blank, "I built a pirate ship…and now I'm a pirate."

He yelped in surprise when Aria swatted him playfully on the behind, leaning into his ear as she rested a hand on his shoulder, "Welcome to the club…"

Shinji groaned painfully.

Garrus coughed to draw back Shinji's attention, "What I'm not happy about, "he repeated, "Is that things have gone as smoothly as they have. I know that ship, and I know the people aboard her. This should _not_ be this easy…"

Shinji set aside his newly found criminal status as something to worry and obsess about at a later date, "How long, EDEN?"

"At least thirty-six more minutes to complete cycling the data. Any faster and EDI-oneechan is certain to notice."

"And you're _sure _she can't track or detect your access?" he asked.

"Quite sure, Shinji-kun. My stratagem in this instance is quite sound."

Shinji turned to look at her, "Isn't your strategist self…_damaged?_ In fact, doesn't EDI have a good chunk of it? I mean what if she's using it and not even-"

"-Kindly stop distracting me, Shinji-kun," interrupted EDEN just a little too loudly.

"Whatever you say…" he murmured, though he was unable to prevent himself from exchanging worried glances with the others.

-Ω-

"Sir, this is Ensign Miller down on deck five," came the voice over the internal comm system.

"Ah, _Frank_," replied Joker, "You got something for me, buddy?"

"Sir," he replied unsurely, "I'm not quite sure how to say this..."

Joker frowned, "Well give it a go anyway. I'm all ears."

"Sir, there _is_ another ship out there, but..."

Joker glanced at EDI and back, "You got them in your sights, Frank?"

"Confirmed, sir, there's another ship trailing just behind us. They're hiding right underneath our thruster exhaust. I'm looking at them clear as day."

Joker looked to EDI, "how far did you say we needed to be to break that connection again?"

"A thousand metres, Jeff."

"Right," he said, turning his attention ahead, "then you just leave this to me, babe..."

"Sir," came the Ensign's voice urgently, "You should know, that ship-" but was cut off as Jeff killed the comm channel, his mind now focused on more important matters.

-Ω-

"Shit!" cursed Tisala as she found herself forced into dropping the ship down to avoid being fried when the Normandy's thrusters suddenly blazed to full power, sending the Alliance ship into a state of rapid acceleration.

"Stay on them!" snapped Aria.

"What do you think I'm trying to do?" she responded, diverting power to the drive in order to keep them in range.

Suddenly, the Normandy veered to one side. She spiralled over an asteroid and then turned to pass through a gap between two others that was barely a foot wider than the Normandy itself.

Shinji watched the asari's hands move as quickly as the console could receive orders as she fought to pursue the Alliance vessel as it ducked and weaved dangerously about the obstacles.

The ship was jolted as they clipped part of an asteroid that the Normandy had melted off into fragments in their path using a precisely timed burn of her thruster array.

"I'm losing my connection," said EDEN.

"I thought I told you to stay on them!"

"_No_," corrected Tisala abruptly, battling both to keep the Normandy in range and also to prevent her from swinging about to get a good look at them, "you're asking me to _outfly_ Jeff Moreau!"

Suddenly, Shinji's hand was on her shoulder as he watched the ship ahead evade, "I'm not asking you to work miracles…just do what you can."

She exhaled a breath and smiled reluctantly, "Aye, Captain."

"_Captain_ now, is it?" Echoed Aria, glancing sideways at him with a slight smirk.

"Not now, Aria…"

Tisala veered the ship over a larger asteroid and used its gravitational field to bounce them ahead somewhat. She pulled the ship sideways as they caught up to the Normandy, both vessels momentarily spiralling around each other in an effort to overtake and pull away like some strange space-born dance of white and shadow. The two vessels moved together, pulled away again, only to be drawn once more close as the Normandy's insistent shadow refused to be shaken.

They broke free of the asteroid field and their tango continued into the nebula waiting beyond, the two dart-like shapes cutting through the clouds and turning them into swirls of gas with their movement.

-Ω-

"Whoever this is, they're good, I'll give them that!" said Joker with a grudging smile, only aware of the pursuing vessel as he caught its presence briefly out his peripheral vision, "Would it be wrong to admit that I'm having just a little bit of fun?"

"Wrong, but hardly surprising, Jeff. The vessel has not yet fired upon us, which leads me to assume that I'm the target in this instance. Perhaps it may be wiser to consider-"

"I'm stoppin' you right there, EDI. I've lost far too many friends and loved ones for me to even imagine losing another. Don't worry, I've got this one. Sometimes people need to be told just how much you're not playing any more. There's a condensed pocket of clarion gas up ahead." He reached up and pressed a few controls on the upper panel, "Charging the forward cannons..."

"May I voice a word of caution?"

"You may voice it, EDI."

"Will you heed it?"

"Not a chance in hell. Fire up the kinetic barriers the instant we open fire."

"As you wish, Jeff," and if Joker hadn't been paying such rapt attention ahead, he would've noticed EDI briefly turn her attention to the viewing port by her chair and down at the dark ship below as it cut through the clouds in parallel to them. Her eyes briefly widened into surprise.

"Time to show these bastards just who they're messing with. To be honest, I'm a little shocked we haven't been able to shake them."

She was still looking out the window, "There may be a very good reason for that, Jeff…"

"Yeah, well we'll know in a moment just how serious these guys are."

Joker pressed a flashing control and one of the forward thanix cannons responded by lighting up the nebula ahead with an arc of brilliant blue/white light.

A great blast of plasma fire lit up the nebula as the gas pocket ignited in the path of both ships. While the shockwave struck the Normandy like a light slap thanks to its defences, the darker vessel was smashed off course like it had been hit across the hull by a particularly offended god with a sledgehammer.

"Open a general channel, EDI," ordered Joker as he steadied himself in his chair.

"Channel open, Jeff."

-Ω-

Shinji didn't need to look to guess the weight on top of him was Aria. The grumbling series of curses that followed confirmed it.

The world seemed to spin as Aria yanked him back to his feet by the collar of his coat. He winced as his hand touched the red welt on his forehead where it had struck the deck plating. He looked about through unfocused eyes as the rest of the bridge crew pulled themselves to their feet. He reached over and pressed a control, "Damage report?"

Tara's voice responded over the intercom, "We have minor damage to the power distribution system, most of our sensors are offline, and let us just say it's lucky the hull was already painted black."

"Okay…" murmured Tisala as she dragged herself back into the pilot's seat, "Gotta admit: did _not_ see that one coming."

Everyone suddenly looked up as the voice of Jeff Moreau filled the cockpit, "Unidentified vessel, this is Executive Officer Jeff Moreau of the Alliance vessel Normandy. You will terminate your connection to our central computer and break off your pursuit or we will open fire. You have ten seconds to comply."

Shinji knew that even though the Normandy would have to find them before actually opening fire, Joker's threat was no less real. His options left therefore were either: get into a firefight with the Normandy, an action which would vilify him in the eyes of pretty much the entire galaxy, including his own; flee and risk EDEN's eventual self-destruction, or turn and face the music…

He looked to Aria, "Like I told you before," she said before he could speak, not even needing to look to know his eyes were on her, "Your call…"

He sighed, "You know what I'm going to do…"

Aria kept herself impassive and merely inclined her head in response, "I do."

Shinji exhaled wearily and turned to Tisala who was looking back at him expectantly, "Power up the main systems."

She nodded and turned back to her console, "Taking us off silent running."

He looked at the AI, "EDEN…"

A small, sad smile graced her features, "Of course…"

-Ω-

"I'm detecting a surge in power; there is now a ship on sensors. I can also confirm the access to my database has been terminated."

"Good, now let's see who we're dealing with. But don't worry. No matter what happens, there's not a ship in the galaxy that can match the Normandy in a dogfight."

"Jeff…" began EDI, but stopped as there was a disturbance in the top of the nebula cloud just up ahead. Its surface swirled and was displaced as a back shadow rose up from within the ethereal blue gas. She turned slowly about as the last of the cloud was shaken free like a shawl drifting off her hull plating. She then halted there, hanging in space before the Normandy.

Joker sank back into his chair, "Now that's just _cheating…"_

"Interesting," said EDI, "While the vessel is clearly an Alliance design, I am detecting an asari drive signature, a hull resonance indicative of Cerberus armour, and what appears to be a turian weapons system. The ship's transponder signal is not currently active, nor can I access her registry."

Joker squinted his eyes, "Can't even see the _name_. Who writes red on black, really?"

"According to the lettering, I believe that the vessel is named Thunder Child. Most likely a reference to the fictional ironclad featured in-"

"-Yeah, that's all nice and dandy, EDI," cut in Joker as he hit the control to reopen the comm channel, "This is the Normandy calling the uh…_other_…Normandy, please identify yourself."

A tired sigh cut through the silence in the cockpit, "Hello, Joker. Hello, EDI…it's just me."

EDI inclined her head, "Greetings, Shinji Ikari," said the AI cordially as the human appeared on the monitor in front of them. She cocked her head slightly, "You appear injured."

Shinji dabbed at the mark on his temple, realising it was actually releasing a small stream of blood down one side of his face. He nodded at his bloodied hand with a frown, "Yeah, I hit my head when you blew up the damned nebula."

Joker blinked, "W-wait, _what? __Shinji_? You're on board that ship?" he held his hands out to the side in exasperation, "What the hell, man?"

"Well, it's kind of a long story. I'm…really not sure where to begin."

"Well you can start by telling me why in the hell you just chased us the better part of a light-year across a system in the Normandy's evil twin! Is there even a single reason why I shouldn't have your ass impounded right this second?"

"_Well-_"

"One reason, Shinji," butted in Joker, his voice deadly serious, "and I shouldn't even be giving you that much. What the hell is going on?"

"Alright," conceded Shinji, "Just let me ask you one thing: Has EDI been acting at all…_strange _recently?"

The anger on Joker's face changed. Surprise then took its place as he glanced slowly at the AI's platform and back. The pilot then regarded Shinji carefully.

"I think we'd best discuss this in person," offered Shinji.

"I think that might be a good idea," replied Joker, adjusting his controls, "Prepare to dock with us."

Shinji noted that the usual levity in Jeff's voice was gone, and he understood why: something was wrong with EDI, and that meant Joker was no longer playing…

-Ω-

Joker had agreed to enter discussion aboard the Thunder Child, primarily because Aria had refused to put him in control of the situation by boarding the Alliance vessel, the pirate herself having decided to retire to the lounge whilst the officer was on board.

The officer paused with his arm around EDI's to glance about the bridge, "Well this is eerie. Why did I half-expect it to be filled with another version of our crew only with goatees?"

"Good to see you again, Joker," came Garrus' voice as he descended the steps from the weapons control area, or his '_nest'_ as it had come to be known.

"_Garrus, r_eally? Again? _Again?_"

"Don't feel bad about it, Joker, "said Shinji as he emerged from the cockpit, "He's here with the understanding that he was fully authorised to paint the bulkhead with my brains if we'd actually fired on the Normandy."

"Oh. Well that's…slightly better then. Still pissed at you though."

"Of course," replied Garrus with an inclination of his head and, with that, Shinji led them to the crew area on deck three.

Joker returned his attention to Shinji, "Spill it then: where did you get yourself a Normandy?"

"The Thunder Child? I built her," replied Shinji, "I needed somewhere to install the AI from the EVA and EDI seemed to work well enough with the Normandy. I just guessed the MAGI might work in a similar way. Plus, I really liked the design."

"I won't deny you have taste. This is by far the _second _sexiest AI-controlled starship that I've ever been on."

"Thank you, Jeff," replied EDI to the indirect compliment as they sat at the table, "you will get favours later."

Joker sputtered a reply before forcing his head back into the game, "So, you said you know what's up with EDI then?" asked the pilot as he settled down.

Shinji nodded, "It looks like EDI and EDEN swapped some-"

"-EDEN?" cut in Joker.

"EDEN is the name the MAGI gave to herself."

"So can she hear us now?" asked Joker, glancing around, "Like EDI can on the Normandy."

"I believe she's sitting right across the table from you, Jeff." said EDI, who had been regarding EDEN's platform inquisitively for quite some time now.

Joker's eyes went wide, "_That's_ your AI?"

"I am." Responded EDEN, "Enatic Defence and Espionage Network…what's left of it."

"Hey, Shinji…" whispered Joker.

"Hmm?"

"Your EDI's a hot Asian chick."

"I noticed..."

"Close your mouth, Jeff," chided EDI.

"Okay, so what exactly _happened_?" asked Joker, bringing things back to the matter at hand.

"As I was saying," said Shinji, "EDEN thought she'd try and upgrade herself by accessing EDI to see if there was anything she could learn from her. From what I can tell, they got into a slight disagreement, some coding was swapped about and it's…altered them slightly."

"Altered them?" Echoed Joker incredulously, "You turned EDI into a horny booze-jockey. Now you might think I'd be surprisingly okay with that, but I'm _really_ not. I mean who builds intoxication protocols into a robot?"

"So that's where those got to…" murmured EDEN.

"Intoxication protocols?" enquired Shinji dryly.

EDEN cocked her head, "It was…a _compromise_, to assist the Misato persona with acclimatisation."

"It disturbs me how much sense that makes," replied Shinji.

"Your platform is quite impressive, EDEN," said EDI, "I detect increased servo-output in the extremities and inbuilt kinetic generators. I assume you intended this model for combat use."

"The design was based almost entirely on yours, EDI-oneechan, I merely made some modifications."

"Onay-what?" asked Joker.

"An honorific," responded EDI, seeming briefly startled, "She referred to me...as sister," and to Shinji, it almost sounded as though EDI were awed by the concept, like it were something alien that she'd never contemplated before.

Joker glanced between them, "_Oh. _That's…sweet, in a weird, computerish kind of way, I guess. But can you put EDI back the way she was?"

EDEN nodded, "We should be able to synchronise our databases and restore our core programming once direct connection is made."

"Will that be difficult?" asked Joker.

EDI shook her head, "No, though it would improve efficiency if our platforms were in direct, intimate contact with one another. We assumed you could assist us during this procedure, Jeff."

Joker was quiet for a long moment, "…Really?"

"No, Jeff," replied EDEN.

"That was a joke," finished EDI.

Joker turned to Shinji "Fix them," he ordered, a slight panic in his voice, "fix them now…"

"Aye, sir," replied Shinji, "How long will this take, EDEN?"

"The procedure should be much quicker now that access is direct. As you know, the retrieval of the data should take only moments. However, as the Normandy is present, I would like to take this opportunity to power down both of our systems and engage in mutual system optimisation to ensure we are both back to operating efficiency. This should take approximately two point four hours."

"I'm inclined to agree. I am disabling network lockouts. Connection in progress," said EDI.

"Would you like to lie down in the infirmary while it's going on?" asked Shinji.

"It really doesn't matter where our platforms are located, Captain Ikari, nor what posture we are in," replied EDI, who was now staring dead ahead.

"W-well, I just meant…you'd be out in the open…and…"

"His concern is very touching," said EDI, her hands flat on the table now.

"Isn't it?" replied EDEN, mirroring her posture, "but then he's always been that way, ever since he was a little boy."

"EDEN!" snapped Shinji, "I think it's about time you started fixing yourself, don't you?"

EDEN looked to EDI, then looked back again, "Very well. Initiating shutdown sequence."

"Sweet dreams, girls," added Joker.

"Thank you, Jeff," replied EDI, deciding not to comment on the fact that, strictly speaking, she had no sub-conscious and was therefore incapable of dreaming.

-Ω-

Before she actually shut herself down and, despite her reassurances, Joker had insisted that EDI relocate her avatar to the infirmary in order to keep her away from 'groping pirate hands' during her downtime.

After the good doctor had assured him she'd guard the AI's body with her life, Joker had decided EDI's platform was safe for now and agreed to take an escorted look around the ship in the meanwhile.

"And down here is engineering…" said Shinji, nodding ahead. "Though considering this ship is almost exactly the same as yours, you probably didn't need me to tell you that."

"Yeah, but considering this is the tour, I guess it's kind of mandatory for you to point every last little thing out."

"Alright," replied Shinji, "This is the deck, those are the walls, that's a Telax-class drive core and that's a quarian."

"Ah, quarian engineer…" said Joker almost sagely, "Wise choice. We used to have one of those. Only ours was purple, and a little bit taller."

"I'm not actually green under my suit, you know..." said Tara, not looking up as she worked at the console in front of the core.

"Prove it," said Joker.

This time she looked back at him, "Has that ever worked?"

"One of these days I'm hoping," replied Joker, "Sweet engine, by the way. Asari, isn't it?"

Tara nodded, "Yes, and thanks for giving her such a workout. You really made her sing today."

"_Sing_?" echoed Joker.

Shinji leaned in to murmur, "I'm not sure, but she seems to think the ship is her baby."

"Don't all good engineers?" replied Tara.

"I guess, though EDEN has complained about your 'mothering her' on more than one occasion."

"I know, but she just seems so fragile…"

Shinji cocked an eyebrow up, "You see the combat android who punched through a metal pillar and picked a fist fight with Aria as…fragile?"

"You should learn to appreciate her inner sensitivities, Captain."

"I've _seen_ her inner sensitivities. They're composed of toughened flexible alloys and Omni-gel."

"Some may say _Aria's_ core is tougher, but there you are…"

"What'd she mean by that?" asked Joker.

"Nothing," said Shinji, hastily leading Joker out, "Let's just go relax in the lounge for now. I'm finding myself in need of a drink."

"Now that I can get behind."

Shinji paused briefly to glance back, "Oh, and Tara? EDEN also asked me to tell you that she understands that you sometimes have to work late, but please refrain from falling asleep on top of her drive core in future. It's a safety hazard."

"I'll do my best, sir."

-Ω-

Shinji kept a politely slow pace as they walked for the elevator, "So how've you been?" asked the Alliance pilot after a brief silence.

"That depends…" said Shinji as they waited for the elevator, "did you _see_ what happened on the Citadel?"

"I don't think there's a single person who _didn't _see it_. _And what in the hell was that? How do you go from…_you, _one second, to stopping bullets and bitch-slapping C-Sec at thirty paces the next?"

"I was having a bad day…"

"Is that all I'm getting?"

"Is your quota for crazy filled for the day?"

"My crazy-cup runneth over, my friend."

"Then that's all you're getting, but besides that and an assassination attempt or two _and_ my ship kidnapping me, not so bad…"

Joker nodded, "And how is _she_?"

Shinji frowned, "Who?"

"Come on, don't make the cripple go digging. You know where I'm going with this."

"Oh…_her_."

"Yeah. I'm gonna be honest, Shinji: there are a _lot _of rumours flying around on the nets right now."

"Rumours?"

Joker shrugged, "You know what the news corps are like with gossip. People want to know what you are, what your link is to Aria, and why you didn't get your ass tossed in jail. You did kidnap two people after all."

"They're the ones who almost shot their own councillor…" grumbled Shinji.

"I saw. Nice save with that one. Tevos may have a bit of a stick up her ass but she's probably the only council member I'd be sad to see gone..."

Shinji nodded, "I still keep in touch with her occasionally, if indirectly. Always has something interesting to say, that one."

Joker inclined his head, "and not a bad kisser, I hear."

"_Definitely_," responded Shinji before his brain could react properly. He clenched his eyes closed in frustration and then looked to Joker, who now seemed quite pleased with himself.

"So," he intoned, "that part _was_ true then..."

Shinji grumbled, "I forgot that C-Sec saw that, and it was only once! _And_ there were circumstances."

"Hey, man, I'm not judging you, nor would anyone really blame you."

"Never mention this again…"

"These lips are sealed, buddy. Shame yours can't say-"

"-Joker!" cut in Shinji with a scowl as they headed for the lounge door.

He raised his free hand defensively, "Easy there, I'm just messin' with you."

"Won't your captain mind you having a drink? And…didn't he or she want to talk about what happened?"

Joker was uncharacteristically quiet for a moment, "The Normandy has no commanding officer."

Shinji frowned, "what?"

"Okay, _technically_ I'm her captain, and I hold the rank too; the XO thing was made official a few weeks back, but on official documents, the position remains vacant."

"But why?"

"It's symbolic. The Normandy might be on active duty, but she also serves as a war memorial. She will only ever have one commander, and that person is…a tough act to follow. I'm sure as hell not going to try. It's…how we remember. But you're not going to distract me. Back to business…"

Shinji rolled his eyes, "Again, you're not going to let this drop, are you?"

"Again, no I am not. And considering you just chased my ship and broke my EDI, you don't get to say which beans you get to spill. You have no idea how many rules I'm breaking just by being here and not reporting you right off."

"Well, there is that…" murmured Shinji.

"So talk, nothing you can do to get out of it."

Shinji shrugged, "Well, perhaps one thing…" he said, just as the door opened.

Joker looked at him briefly with a confused frown, he then returned his attention ahead only to let out a startled yelp when he found Aria lounging back in her seat, regarding him over the top of her glass with her usual scowl.

She narrowed her gaze at him, "Nice to see you too, Moreau." She said, "How's your twin brother doing?"

Joker edged around the door and began backing toward the bar, "Ah, you know him…still…_crazy._"

Aria didn't dignify him with a response and merely went back to her drink.

Shinji was painfully aware of Aria's eyes on his back as he went round the bar to pour himself and Joker a beverage.

Joker glanced over his shoulder, quickly returning it ahead as Aria's attention flicked briefly to him out the corner of her eye, "Is…she going to be there long?" he murmured, lowering his voice as low as he could without actually whispering.

Shinji shrugged and looked back at her, "Probably. I think this is her favourite place on the ship."

"Because the drinks are here?"

"Actually, I think it's because this is one of the few places on the ship where EDEN can't spy on her without actually coming in herself. That, and the drinks are here."

"I'm still going to ask though," said Joker, lowering his voice until it was barely in the audible spectrum, "Has anything happened between you and…" he cocked his head backward twice.

"Why don't you ask her?"

"Are you _mad?_ Wait, stupid question…"

"Well," said Shinji, "She _is_ standing right behind you…"

"W-wha?" he murmured, and almost jumped out of his skin when he realised Aria was now glowering at him from just inside his personal space, "Oh, h-hi there…" he glanced nervously at Shinji as he tried to lean back over the bar, "Did I just piss off the scary space-pirate lady?"

"_Y_-_yeah_, she really doesn't like being ignored. Plus, she hears like a bat."

"You want a progress update on his relationship?" asked Aria tersely.

"Uh, ummm…"

"Alright then: He told me he loves me; I fucked his brains out; he enjoyed it immensely…_oh_, as did I. Any more queries?"

"Hmm, nope, that was pretty conclusive," he then turned to Shinji, "_Nice._"

Aria just rolled her eyes in disgust, slammed her glass down on the bar and swung about to walk away.

Shinji sighed and weaved about Joker, "Aria, wait…" He reached out and grabbed her hand when she showed no signs of halting.

She jerked almost rigidly to attention and Shinji saw her shoulders tense. Shinji took a calming breath as she regarded him with a silent glower over her shoulder, but she didn't pull her hand away.

"Look…" he breathed, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ignore you like that. Nor have I been trying to avoid you while dealing with all this. I'm just…just _trying_ to be political so…" his voice rose an unwilling level, "so this doesn't all collapse on your _head_ when people realise that not only do you have the EVA, but a consort with an AI crammed into a ship _stuffed_ with military grade weapons and hardware…I'm... _trying_, Aria."

"If I thought you were ignoring me, you'd _know it…_"she said quietly in a low tone, and Shinji sensed that she was actually upset beyond her usual indignation. He had to guess that between EDEN and having to deal with everything else that had been dropping around him recently, even Aria had a limit to reach when one's life was little more than one unending galactic powerplay with, ironically, very little in the way of privacy.

He glanced back to realise Jeff was doing his best to not pay attention, he looked back at Aria once more and dared to squeeze her hand briefly, "I'm _sorry_, Aria…"

Shinji felt her tendons start to tighten before she had a chance to correct herself and gently freed her appendage from his.

The asari turned forwards once more and Shinji saw her chest rise and fall as she took a deep breath, "Moreau…" she said.

"Y-yes?"

"Pour me another," she commanded. She then walked back to the bar and dropped heavily down onto the stool next to Jeff, causing him to flinch noticeably.

"You're the boss…" he muttered, complying and topping her glass up.

She swiped the glass up to take a drink, "And there's the first intelligent thing you've said since we met."

Joker drank slowly, nervously glancing sidelong at the asari before choosing to pay rapt attention to the bulkhead directly ahead, "So, drinking with Aria T'Loak? _Nice_…this is…this is nice. If mom could see me now…"

"Less talking," cut in Aria, "That's what he's for," she said, cocking her head in Shinji's general direction.

Joker, to his credit, did manage a whole twelve seconds before opening his mouth again, "Can I just ask _one _last thing?"

Aria set her drink down somewhat harder than necessary, "…_what?_"

Permission given, Joker immediately relaxed and turned to Aria, "So, I've got to ask: Did you say it back?"

She scowled at him, "Say what back?"

"_You_ _know…"_

"I _don't_," she replied warningly.

"Well, he said what he said…did you say it back to him?"

She steepled her fingers together atop her glass and turned to look at him with far too cordial a smile.

"Y-you don't have to answer that," stammered Joker, leaning back until he bumped into Shinji.

"I can answer it. I can answer it with all honesty…"

"But, I'm…guessing this is the part where you tell me that if you do, I don't leave this room alive, right?"

Aria's gaze narrowed, "You're learning, Joker. Well done…"

Jeff cocked his head and went back to his drink, "Point taken."

Despite the danger faced, Joker shifted subtly in his seat just enough to look at Shinji out of the corner of his eye. He observed the younger-looking human just long enough to watch as the small, reflective smile graced the edges of his mouth. And there was his answer.

With a satisfied smirk, Joker picked up his drink and sat back in his stool, mouthing "_Nice…_" just one last time over the rim of his glass. He noticed Aria turn to look directly at him, "And shutting up now…"

And so, with a very probable threat of death looming over Jeff Moreau should another word pass his lips, the three continued drinking in silence…

-Ω-

A couple of hours later, Shinji found himself in the infirmary with Aria and Joker. EDI and EDEN's platforms lay still on their neighbouring beds.

"Just so we're clear," said Joker to Shinji as he slouched against the wall beside him, "I would be totally pacing right now if I had the bone density to do so."

"I'm sure EDI knows that, Joker..."

EDI was the first to twitch, just a slight shifting of her fingers as the control systems in her platform booted up. Then, with one smooth movement, she sat up.

"EDI…" said Joker, stepping forward, "Are you-"

"I am fine, Jeff," replied EDI as she looked quickly down at her hands and body as if running one final check, "All diagnostics have been completed and all systems restored. The corruption in my core programming has been fully repaired."

He looked carefully at her, "_All _of it?"

EDI cocked her head, "My personality and core programming have been fully restored, but I will admit that I selectively retained…_some_ of the code."

Joker smirked, "Sweet," he nodded at the remaining prone AI, "Who knows, Shinji, maybe yours got some upgrades too."

Shinji stepped slowly around the other adjoining bed to where EDEN still lay motionless, "EDI?" he asked, glancing at the functioning AI.

EDI swivelled round in her bunk and stood up. Shinji wasn't sure why he lent her a steadying hand, but he did it regardless.

EDI took a step toward the other bed and looked down. She tilted her head curiously, "Your platform is fully active. Why are you remaining motionless, sister?"

EDEN's brow furrowed as if irritated. She then slowly, and with far less grace than her counterpart, began to push herself up with one hand.

EDEN yawned in what Shinji could only describe as a very unmachinelike way, and after pausing to wipe what he hoped was imaginary sleep from her eye, she then surveyed her surroundings through somewhat scrunched eyes, "Morning, Shinji-kun…Edi-neechan."

Shinji looked warily at EDEN, "EDEN, are you…okay?"

"Or…_downgrades_," commented Joker, who then leaned in to whisper to Shinji, "Is it just me, or does your robot have bed-hair?"

EDEN held a portion of her hair out in front of her to examine it. With another grumble, she began running her hands through it until it was perfectly straight once more.

"EDEN…?" prompted Shinji again, "Are you okay?"

EDEN rolled her shoulders and stood to her feet. She blinked a few times, and Shinji could've sworn her irises kept switching between green and brown with a barely audible click each time she did it. Then she spoke, "Like EDI said: Everything checks out; I am myself again…whoever that might be."

"How are you feeling?" asked Shinji.

"Like I have the distinct need to run practical tests on my intoxication protocols, but otherwise okay."

EDEN cocked her head, as if something suddenly occurred to her. "Shinji-kun?" she asked, turning about to face him.

"What is it, EDEN?"

She didn't respond verbally. Instead, she swung her arm about and slapped him suddenly and violently across one cheek with enough force to send the Third Child staggering.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Joker, and before Aria could even take a step, EDEN had Shinji's chin in her hand and had tilted his head round to look at her.

"Do not _ever_ point a weapon at yourself again. Understood?"

Shinji cradled the side of his face, glowering at her, "_Perfectly_," he replied with a snarl, "Now was that delayed reaction from Misato, or was that from my Mother?"

"That was from both of us!" she snapped.

"Okay," cut in Joker gingerly, "I think we can just leave you with your 'fixed' AI and be on our way…"

"Yes, I also believe it wise we depart," said EDI, "any longer and Alliance Command will no doubt demand a full report, and that could raise…_complications_."

Joker nodded. He knew that if the Alliance found out EDI had been even temporarily compromised they would raise all kinds of hell and could make existence very difficult for her if they wanted.

"And if you require further assistance, EDEN," said EDI, "you may contact me without the need for further subversion."

"Yeah," said Joker, looking warily at the other AI, "You…you keep in touch. Time to go, EDI."

"Of course, Jeff," replied EDI curtly, taking Joker's arm as they left the room.

-Ω-

Shinji escorted them to the airlock connecting the two ships. A pair of asari commandos guarded one side and a pair of Alliance officers the other.

The Alliance pilot turned back as they reached the aperture, "Thanks for having us over, and I know this is a stupid thing to say considering the company you keep: but try to stay out of trouble. Or at the very least, try not to rope us into it next time."

"I'll do my best, "replied Shinji, both he and EDEN bowing once with traditional politeness.

"And, Garrus," said Joker, turning his attention to the turian as he stood off to one side.

"Yes, Joker?"

"You might not have such a rod up your ass these days, but please stop going out of your way to be such a pain in ours."

"I'll _also_ do my best..."

The door was then sealed closed. There was a gentle jolt a moment later as the Normandy disconnected and then drifted away on inertia.

The lighter-coloured of the two ships then veered off before swiftly jumping into FTL in order to get themselves back on their regular course.

"Right," said Shinji, "That's that all dealt with…" he said, heading off to the cockpit to get their course changed: He really wanted to get out of Alliance space before they attracted any unwanted attention.

EDEN moved to follow, only for Aria to extend her hand sideward in her path. Aria kept her attention on Shinji as he departed. She waited until he was out of earshot, "You say you're back to normal. When you say that…"

EDEN averted her gaze, "When I say that, I mean I am once more what I was meant to be."

Aria returned her hand to her side and inclined her head, "Alright then. Now that this trouble's dealt with, it's about time we get back to our regular trouble…" she then followed after, leaving the still MAGI alone with her thoughts.

-Ω-

Joker sank down in his pilot's chair just as a voice came over the tightbeam channel, "This is Alliance Control. SSV Normandy, please respond."

Joker tapped the comm control, "This is the Normandy. Hearing you loud and clear, Control."

"We've received word that you've encountered an unidentified vessel. Do you require assistance?"

Joker looked at the display for a second. He then glanced right to where EDI sat in the adjoining seat.

Observing him through her many eyes, EDI turned her platform to look back at him questioningly. Joker then quickly returned his attention to the panel, "No, Control. Turned out they just had a faulty transponder and their VI bugged out on them. We've already rendered assistance and sent them on their way. We're making time to return to our assigned route and should check in as scheduled…nothing further to report."

"Confirmed, Normandy. Control out."

Joker blew out a tired breath, "EDI?"

"The appropriate log alterations have already been made."

"That's my girl," said the pilot with satisfaction, "So…" he said after a moment of silence.

"Yes, Jeff?"

"'_Favours'?" _he asked with bemusement, "or was that just another _corruption_?"

EDI was quiet for a spell and, unless Joker was mistaken, he could almost make out the beginnings of a smile on her face for just a split second, "You will just have to wait and see, Jeff…"

And so, with a smirk he just couldn't contain plastered on his face, Jeff Moreau returned to his vigil of the stars ahead…

-Ω-

Shinji Ikari kept his gaze on the starfield outside as the mass-free corridor blurred and distorted it into a sea of swirling colour.

Aria had been quite insistent that they get back to what she considered 'more important business ', and so they had soon all found themselves in the meeting room as the Thunder Child cruised along on auto-pilot (or EDEN, as she preferred to be called).

Hovering above the centre of the table was a holographic representation of fortress-like structure.

Shinji glanced back. EDEN was sat at the table. Her fingers were steepled in front of her as she regarded the image with an almost thoughtful frown.

Tisala circled the table, her eyes flicking over the image, "You were not joking about this one, Aria," she said, "Triple reinforced walls, sentry towers, state of the art sensor nets, automated turrets, armed patrols…this man really takes paranoia to new levels."

"To be fair," said Tara, "it is only paranoia if it isn't founded."

Shinji smiled mirthlessly, "Which I suppose it is in this case."

"Very well founded," said Aria, her gaze then turned on the other asari, "You just need to get me inside so I can have a little talk with him. Can you crack it?"

Tara shifted, "I am really not sure that I am comfortable talking about plotting to kill a man…"

Aria glanced at her, "I have no intention of killing him; that would cause too much fallout. I only want to have a nice, _friendly _talk with him."

"And I sense you are using 'friendly' in the broadest possible sense of the term," said Garrus as he stood with his back to the table a few feet from Shinji's side. Shinji noted the turian had been oddly silent since he had finished scrutinizing the holographic image.

Tisala shook her head, "Even with her stealth systems, the Thunder Child would be noticed if we tried to fly her into Thessia's atmosphere. We would have to enter from the ground. But some of this hardware, I've never even seen the like of it before..."

"I'm just asking you to get me at one man. You got at _him_ easily enough," said Aria, nodding at Shinji, "Can you do it?"

"I only took Shinji from Omega with such ease because you weren't expecting it. This man however, he is _very_ much expecting you to try something."

"A mark of the guilty…" commented EDEN, "I've already confirmed his internal security network is totally isolated from the outside world. I _could_ try hacking some of the security firms he's used in order to get more information on his defences and layout, however that also carries the risk of drawing a lot of unwanted attention if I'm discovered, not to mention broadcasting our intentions."

"So all we need to do," said Shinji, "is get around all that security without setting off a single alarm, threaten this person until we find out what he knows, and then break out again?"

Tisala dropped into a chair, "It really is easier said than done…"

Shinji sighed and regarded the slowly rotating image tiredly, "Anybody know a good alarm specialist?"

Both to Shinji and everyone else's surprise, Garrus chose that moment to turn about and, with the tiniest of shrugs, offer unto them a possible solution to their problems, "I might know someone…"

-Ω-

_To be continued…_

-XA-

[A/N] And done. Finding time in the most surprising places to get these chapters out. Hope you're having as much fun reading as I am writing, though I suspect if that weren't the case you wouldn't be reading this over a hundred thousand words in. Regardless, I hope to be ready with the next segment ASAP.

I'll catch you in Chapter 20: The Thief


	20. Chapter 20: The Thief

[A/N] You know, it's the day after I posted the last chapter, and I tried to take a day off, really I did, but the plot bunnies are out of control it seems. And thus comes Chapter 20…jeez, I have no idea how this has gone on as long as it has, but I guess I'm committed to running with this right till the end now. Though I have as yet no idea how long this will actually turn out to be, or if there will be sequels once this story is concluded, I write under the mantra that a story or even a chapter will simply be as long as they need to be to get across my intentions. I'd reveal those intentions but…spoilers…

**Chapter 20: The Thief**

The Thunder Child was docked at Omega as repair crews worked to replace the few damaged armour segments and a pair of burned out GARDIAN lasers. Everything seemed almost on hold as they waited on a response to the message Garrus had sent.

Shinji was on the bridge, his back propped up against a bulkhead when his Omnitool blinked up an alert, drawing his attention downward.

A reluctant smile pulled at the edge of his mouth. He didn't even need to look to know what it was. After all, when you had to keep to schedules as religiously as she did, it usually meant that if there was one thing you could always count on her for, it was punctuality.

**From: Consort Sha'ira**

**To: Consort/Captain Ikari**

**Subject: Re(57): To my fellow Consort**

**Message Body: As always, I hope this message finds you well and in good spirits. Today I had a disagreement with a vending machine and watched a romantic comedy whose jokes, in retrospect, were in very poor taste. It is with regret therefore that I say I have not had a very enriching day with which to provide you details.**

**I was distressed greatly when nameless (as always) sources informed me of the incident involving your vessel. I would remind you that I was apprehensive when you told me your ship was designed to carry an **INTERRUPT** *CENSORED* **END INTERRUPT**, but as you appear to have resolved the issue I will consider that weight lifted from my heart.**

**On a lighter note, I am delighted beyond words to hear of your progress with Aria. Albeit accidentally, I am glad you have taken my words about openness to heart. You neglected to mention Aria's reaction. Though I accept your wish to respect her privacy, I do admit that I am genuinely curious. Details (if applicable) will be as always, much appreciated (I would enquire if you caught my double meaning, but given your responses to my previous correspondences, I am relatively certain that this is no longer necessary)**

**You asked for my opinion on your moral quandary (And as normal, you may consider your reply to this correspondence as my fee for advice given).**

**Whilst you may not be viewed by many as a paragon of order due to the fact that, yes: technically, you have committed crimes; kidnapping obviously among them (though I remain insistent that Tevos got preferential treatment from yourself during that incident. I would take this opportunity to state that, should you ever feel the urge to abscond with my personage again, I expect to come out of it with having received at least some degree of positive physical attention, but I digress…) breaking a law of society does not necessarily make you a bad person, for it is only the intent and outcome of that choice that truly matters.**

**You may not be on the right side of the law, Shinji Ikari, but you are not a bad person; you are not a bad person because you choose not to be for the sake of those around you, even if this is at your own expense. From our talks about your past, I can tell that, in the end, you have always gone out of your way to be what those around you need to be. One may argue that you and I were born to play our roles. **

**You will always be a good person because Aria needs you to be one. Ignoring the question of whether she is a good or bad person, (for that is a debate I would not like to get into) I will say that, whilst she may not be the most law abiding of individuals, (please note my art for understatement) even the darkest and worst of us need at least one light in our life to prevent us from slipping completely into darkness. As her consort, that is the service you provide both to her and to those around her.**

**Tevos inquired as to your status as normal. I will provide her with the usual level of detail unless you ask otherwise. She is also well and thanks you for your concern in relation to the minor sexual scandal involving you and her, something which she claimed to be 'foolishness' of which she was 'too old to get involved with any more', to which I of course objected sternly. (I say sternly. I spoke words to the contrary and then gave her a brief embrace. She was disinclined to argue the point further).**

**I must now put an end to this correspondence and do, as always, look forward to your response.**

**May the Goddess smile upon you.**

**Consort Sha'ira**

**P.S. I believe the word you were looking for in your last message was 'tantric'. Please see manual attached.**

**SCREEN CRAWL: Attachment saved to local directory 'IkariS1'.**

Shinji looked at his Omnitool in reflection for a moment.

'_I'm starting to think I have a very strange taste in friends. Good, but definitely strange…'_

He smiled weakly and clicked the screen off. He caught EDEN looking at him out the corner of her eye with slight disapproval.

He narrowed his gaze at her, "Please stop reading my mail. And don't think I didn't catch your little censorship in there."

"I refute the allegation, and any censorship present would merely be due to the filter I installed covertly in the Citadel's main communication system to prevent information about me being spread across open channels. There was no direct intervention from me whatsoever in relation to that message."

"Sure, I believe you…" he muttered, turning and walking off.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Aria as she paused on her way to the cockpit.

EDEN deemed to answer her, "He was just accusing me of hacking his mail."

"Were you?"

"Well, yes, but that's beside the point."

Aria looked at Shinji as he boarded the elevator, "Still writing to Sha'ira, is he?"

EDEN seemed briefly startled, "You knew?"

Aria's gaze flicked back to her, "Of course I knew. I gave him his first Omnitool after all. He knows I know, though."

"You don't object?"

Aria folded her arms, "Why should I? Besides, it's what he does. He does it and he doesn't even consciously _realise_ he's doing it. In retrospect, that probably explains Garrus being here."

EDEN frowned, "I don't follow."

"The Citadel Consort, Garrus Vakarian, Councillor Tevos? Don't you see the patterns, AI? Shinji has the ability to gather people around him and establish ties. He doesn't even know he's doing it. War heroes, consorts and councillors; do you really think it's all coincidental? It's in his blood. And I don't object, MAGI, because I don't toss aside what could be a potential resource."

"Must get it from his father," muttered EDEN under her breath. She then looked at Aria, "and you forgot to add space pirates to that list."

Aria didn't respond to the statement, "Do you have any information on the person Garrus contacted?"

EDEN shook her head, "Garrus was very careful about encrypting the transmission. I also felt it wise to respect his wish and not try to break the code on the data package before sending it for him. All I can tell you is that he sent it to one of the Shadow Broker's contact points to then be forwarded on. Whoever it is, they are exceptionally averse to being publicly identified."

Aria glanced up at the entrance to the weapons maintenance area with irritation, "And now we wait?"

"That seems to be the general idea…" agreed EDEN, which was not something she did often with Aria.

Aria stood in thoughtful silence for a moment longer. EDEN had not deemed to move either, though that was primarily because she had nothing currently requiring her platform's attention. Aria's mind however, that had become caught on something the MAGI had said.

Without another word, Aria turned and headed for the lift at the rear of the bridge, the AI sparing her only a brief glance with one of her flight recorders as she left.

-Ω-

Being stuck on effective standby until Garrus said otherwise had left Shinji with a little more free time than he was normally comfortable with, and so he found himself alone in the starboard lounge where the on board library was located. A datapad on recent Earth history rested in his lap.

From what Shinji could tell, his Earth's history and this world's Earth had been pretty much identical up until the start of the twenty-first century, right up until Second Impact had occurred.

The lack of Angels on the Earth in this world and the lack of a Prothean base stashed on Mars in Shinji's had diverged history wildly from that point on, not that he had much recollection of events beyond 2016, but from what observations Shinji _had_ made during his long slumber, he was sure there had been no Mass Relays or massive jumps in human development like there had been in this reality.

Shinji paused to muse. If he _were_ able to accurately remember his own world at the end of the twenty-second century, would mankind have been out among the stars as humanity was here, or would they still be virtually Earth-bound, limited to within their own star system? With a shake of his head, he realised that it didn't matter regardless, as all of his old friends would've been long dead by then anyway.

Deciding his thoughts to be heading in far-too morbid a direction, Shinji deactivated the datapad and was about to stand up, had Aria not entered the room at that very same moment.

Shinji settled back down again, "Oh, hello, Aria."

Aria didn't say anything for a moment; she just stood there looking at him questioningly.

Shinji frowned, "Is something-"

"-Why did you stay?" she suddenly asked.

Shinji's frown deepened out of confusion. He glanced out the window at the dock below, "W-well the repairs weren't too extensive, and I figured Garrus might-"

"-That's not what I meant," she interjected once more, "I _meant:_ why did you stay on Omega?"

Shinji's frown remained fixed in place as he swivelled round in his chair to fully face her, "What are you talking about? I told you ages ago why I didn't want to go back to Earth."

"You might have told me why you didn't want to return to Earth, but that still doesn't tell me why you chose to remain on Omega. There are other places out there far safer than this station."

Shinji wasn't exactly sure what she was after, nor what had brought the subject up, "Aria, have I done something wrong?"

Aria folded her arms and looked away, "No, it's nothing. I'm just…curious."

Shinji sat back in his chair, "You know why I stayed…"

"And I want you to say it anyway."

Shinji nodded, "Alright. I stayed because of you."

Aria turned to look at him again, "And I know that. What I want to know is _why_. And I want you to think about that carefully: exactly _why_ did you choose to stay with me?" That was what she was really after: Aria wanted to know if his decision to be with her had even been a fully conscious one. Did he choose her because of what she was; an undeniably powerful entity that he had stumbled over, or because of _who_ she was?

"Because I was bonded to you…"

The quiet response seemed to take Aria aback, "W-what?"

He continued speaking, "I think we've been connected even before we actually met. The feeling only became solid after that first time you tried to meld with me, and I don't know how or why that is, but I just feel that way.

"I didn't leave, Aria, because I don't think I could have even if I'd tried. You…were like nothing else I'd ever seen before, and I don't mean because you were an alien – though that was true also – but the fact was, I'd never met a _person_ like you before."

Aria's gaze narrowed and she felt an amused smirk tug at the side of her mouth as she approached him, stopping just within his personal space, "Are you saying you were…_enamoured_…by me?"

Shinji flushed and looked away, that usual, sheepish smile on his face, "Maybe…but I'm sticking with bonded."

Aria's smirk stayed in place, satisfied now, "Now that's an even stronger word. You really shouldn't go throwing it around, else people might start thinking its official."

"You mean we're not official?" he asked.

"Well…of course. Not _officially_…officially." She replied, seeming unnerved suddenly.

He cocked his head, "Then why don't we?" he asked. While Shinji knew that Aria valued what little personal privacy she could get, he was unsure why she was that opposed to actually putting their relationship status as being emotionally close out in the open in some way.

"What did you say?" she asked, undisguised shock clear on her face, which to Shinji was not something he often saw with her.

"I _said: _why don't we just make it official?"

To his surprise, Aria took a slow step away from him, "You…do know what you're asking me, right?"

Shinji frowned, "Why, what do you _think_ I'm asking?"

She regarded him very carefully, "I…think you're asking me to be your bondmate."

It wasn't an expression Shinji had heard of before, and so he had to dwell on it for a moment. They had already bonded closely, more closely than anyone he'd met in his life. And as for mating, _well_, there was certainly a great big check in that box too.

He shrugged.

Made sense to him.

"Yes," he replied, "I suppose I am."

Aria's expression froze, "I...I ah," he watched her turn away, her fingers outstretched at her side as she suddenly paid rapt attention to what was going on outside. She swung back about, pacing briefly, "This…this is…you are moving very fast with this."

Shinji just smiled and shrugged, "It's okay. If you don't want to-"

"-I didn't _say that_," she cut in, momentarily glaring at him before swinging around once more to look out the window, clenching her fists briefly.

He watched her cross her arms across her chest and Shinji knew that when Aria got like this she could brood for quite some time before talking again. He smiled and walked around toward the door. He glanced back over his shoulder as it opened upon his approach, "I'll just leave you to-"

"-Yes."

Aria's voice brought him to a halt, "Hm?"

Aria turned back around, uncrossing her arms to look at him, "I said yes: I will be your bondmate, Shinji Ikari."

Shinji blinked in mild surprise, and then he just smiled happily, "Oh, that's nice."

Aria's brow twitched and strode towards him, "_Nice_?" she echoed, dragging him close to her. She flicked his hair from his face with practiced ease, "You're an idiot…"

Shinji smiled, "So I've been-"and he'd have continued, but Aria cut him off with a sudden, insistent act of deep osculation. He felt her fingers dig almost painfully, _desperately_ into his arm and then suddenly pushed him away to arm's length. He noted that she didn't let him go right away like normal. Her touch seemed to linger, as if reluctant to end.

But end it did, and she continued to walk past him, pausing by his side to look at him, "If anybody asks, _I_ was the one who made the proposition to you, but I think the actual ceremony may have to wait until this situation is resolved. Your quarters, one hour." and then she was gone.

Shinji looked blankly after her as she departed. He dwelled on what had just transpired for a moment. "_Well, _she made that oddly emotional…"

The human's brow then tightened in momentary confusion, "Wait, they have a _ceremony_ for that?" Shaking his head at how vast the gap was between his level of understanding of asari physiology and asari culture, Shinji moved to leave, honestly bewildered.

Shinji's head wasn't made much clearer when the door failed to respond automatically as it normally did. This failure caused said head and said door to come together with a very nasty _crack._

Shinji's eyes fluttered as he staggered back, a hand going to his now throbbing temple, "Okay…_ouch!"_

"Ikari Shinji!" growled the loud voice over the speaker system, causing Shinji to wince once more.

Two things occurred to Shinji at the same time: The voice had been EDEN's, although it sounded briefly like a bizarre cross between Misato and his Mother. And then there was the second thing: she had referred to him by his full name.

That probably meant he was in trouble for some reason.

"E-EDEN?" he stammered, one eye open and a hand still on his forehead.

"Do you have any idea what you've just done?"

"_Yes,_ I just brained myself on a metal door!"

"That's not what I'm talking about!"

"Well, quite frankly, I don't _care _what you're talking about. Why did you stop it from opening? Have you gone crazy again?"

"Have _I_ gone crazy?" replied the voice incredulously, sounding like Misato once more.

"Open the door, EDEN," said Shinji in a low tone, "open it now…"

There was a click, followed by the usual mechanical sound as the door finally complied and opened for him.

Shinji shook his head in annoyance but immediately regretted it as pain lanced through his skull. EDEN's voice followed him down the corridor as she switched locations to observe him, "You asked me to respect your decisions, but you could have at least _consulted me_ before-"

"-Quiet, EDEN," cut in Shinji, "I am _not_ talking to you right now. Just one more word and I'm going to take a page from Aria's book and start shooting out your comm. relays. _One…word._"

Shinji could almost hear the hesitation from the AI as he took the elevator up one level. He locked his glare with EDEN's platform warningly across the CIC and kept it there as he circled around and climbed the stairs to the nest.

-Ω-

"Problem?" asked Garrus, not looking up from the main GARDIAN console as Shinji leaned back against the bulkhead and dropped down onto his backside within the darkened room.

"Just EDEN acting like…EDEN. If you ask me, she's gotten a little too emotional since she got her personality back."

"It was your idea to help her, not that I was opposed to it or anything," he muttered, still focused on his work.

"I guess. I just came up to see if you'd gotten any response yet."

"Nothing yet…" he replied, grabbing a probe and then crouching down into a hatch to adjust some nameless exposed conduit.

"Right, just thought I'd check. What are you doing by the way?"

"Just calibrating…So, what did you do to upset EDEN this time?" asked the turian offhandedly.

Shinji rolled his eyes, "I don't know. I just asked Aria to be my bondmate and EDEN got all hissy." He paused, shifting slightly where he sat, "Though to be fair, even Aria started acting weird. She made quite a big thing of it. Back home when you wanted to announce you were going steady, you just _announced it_. Did you know asari apparently have some kind of ceremony for that?"

It was only then that Shinji realised something: It had suddenly gone extremely quiet in the nest.

Garrus Vakarian had stopped calibrating.

The turian was still crouched over, but he was now looking across at Shinji with a quite unreadable expression. He spoke after a moment, "Did she say yes?"

Shinji inclined his head, "Yeah…took her a moment though."

Garrus just stared at him.

"W-what?"

The turian then cocked his head at the human's hand, "May I please borrow that datapad for a moment?"

Shinji glanced at his hand, realising he still indeed had the device with him, "Sure," he replied, reaching across to pass it to Garrus.

The turian quickly cleared the display and inputted a new search string which he then fed back to the main computer. A new page of text blinked up and he handed it back to the human, "Here…"

Shinji frowned and took it from him, turning it about to read the title, "Asari bondmate ceremonies…"

Shinji glanced up to realise Garrus was now not only standing up, but was leaning back against the console behind him with his arms folded as he looked down at him, "Th-thanks, Garrus. I suppose I'll give it a read to see what it…Oh, d-don't mind me though, you can go back to your…to your-"

"-Oh _no_," interrupted Garrus, "It's quite alright. You see, there are times in a person's life when you really do just have to stand back…and _watch._"

Shinji looked at him in bewilderment before inclining his head and going back to the pad in his hands, reading out loud once more, "Okay: 'Asari Bondmate Ceremony (see also: Bondmate). An asari ritual involving…" he trailed off to scroll briefly down the page a bit, "wow, this is _long_…"

"Why don't you just skip to the bottom," said Garrus, leaning forward to click an indexing control.

Shinji glanced warily up and him and then at the pad, "Okay…" he then began murmuring as if reading through various words before trailing back in, "'Whilst the bondmate ceremony is a purely asari tradition in terms of origin, it is quite common for the asari's partner in the ritual to be of another species." He paused to look up at Garrus, "Well that's alright, at least."

"Keep reading…" prompted the turian.

Shinji inclined his head, "_In turn_, very close parallels have been drawn with various other institutions among numerous other species. Indeed, the ceremony has come to be regarded by many as a cross-cultural equivalent to the rituals of several other races. Please see the following examples for more information: Turian (Joining Ceremony); Human (Marriage); Hanar (Blessing of the Pairing); Press here for a full list of-' Okay…"

Shinji then began to turn his attention away from the pad, and Garrus found himself doing a rather strange mental countdown for the realisation to kick in.

Shinji looked back up at him.

Words, however, didn't come…

His expression was locked, frozen in place. The only change was the quick fading of complexion as all the blood drained from his capillaries.

Wordlessly, Shinji's eyes were drawn back downward once more, locking in on one single word.

"And there it is…" intoned Garrus.

Shinji forced his attention back to the turain, just as the pad sipped through what were obviously quite numb fingers.

"_Marriage_?"

"That's right…"

"So, I just…Did I just…_propose_?"

Garrus nodded, "That seems to be exactly what you just did."

"I just proposed…to Aria T'Loak?"

"Looks like it's not just your face all the blood's gone from."

"I just proposed to Aria," muttered Shinji, eyes still vacant, "and she said _yes_?"

Garrus inclined his head, "That she did. I believe congratulations are in order."

Shinji seemed to waver where he sat, "B-but…" and Shinji wasn't sure what he'd have said next, but he barely resisted the urge to squeal when a jolt of electricity shot up his arm and had him leaping to his feet in shock, "W-what the hell was that?"

Garrus replaced the cable he'd jabbed briefly against Shinji's arm, "Sorry, but you seemed to need that."

Shinji grasped his heart, "Did you just electrocute me?"

"I wouldn't worry. I made sure it wasn't a dangerous amount."

Shinji heaved for breath, "Do not…_ever _do that again."

"Well, I could've waited for you to come to your senses, but I'm really not that patient. So, what are you going to do about it? You have proposed –essentially— to Aria T'Loak, and she has accepted."

"And now I'm…_engaged_?"

"Do I need to shock you again before you stop repeating the obvious?"

Shinji looked witheringly at him, but couldn't deny the treatment had been effective, "What _am _I going to do? I mean, what if she finds out I didn't know when I asked her? I mean, she's the only one who had to _think_ about it."

"And ignoring that, she did say yes. Have you thought about it now though?" asked Garrus.

"W-Well, yes, I've kind of had to!"

"Well? What would you have said if she'd asked you?"

"Well I'd have said _yes_, but…"

"Then I really don't see what the problem is," said Garrus, going back to his work, "If you ask me, all you've done is save yourself a lot of…" the turian trailed off as his Omnitool began blinking. A red indicator flashed insistently on the surface of the device, "Never mind. It looks like we have a response…"

Shinji took a calming breath, "Right…I'll call the-"

"-Will all command staff please report to the bridge immediately," cut in EDEN's voice.

Garrus sighed, "She is prompt, I'll give her that."

"You only like her because she keeps complimenting you on your work."

"_Well_…a man does like to feel appreciated."

-Ω-

EDEN hadn't budged from her previous spot when Shinji descended back to the bridge, her eyes followed him all the way down, arms crossed in front of her. Shinji was frighteningly reminded of the same posture Misato would have back at NERV whenever he'd done something wrong.

She strode toward him the instant he was back on deck.

Shinji rolled his eyes and looked away from her.

"Look at me, Shinji-kun."

Shinji kept his eyes away, "Look where? You're watching me from all around."

She remained silent and unmoving until eventually he relented and looked back at her platform.

"You can't do this," she said.

"I really think I can. I really think I already did."

She scowled at him, "You didn't even know _what_ you did."

He glared right back at her, "Well I do now, and I'll bring it up with her later."

EDEN looked down at him, "No need."

Shinji's expression darkened, "What did you do?"

"I told her. Considering everything that's going on, I thought it best-"

"-You had no right to interfere! Who do you think you are? In fact, don't answer that, because quite frankly I'm _terrified_ to find out." EDEN looked down at where Shinji's knuckles cracked into fists repeatedly as he seethed on the spot.

EDEN's attention was then briefly drawn past the infuriated human, but was pulled back when Shinji stepped right up into her face, "Even if…Even _if_ I wasn't entirely sure, it doesn't matter."

Again, a brief flicking of her eyes and back, "And why is that?"

Shinji leaned closer, "Because the question…still…_stands,_" he said, glowering at her, his voice rising unwillingly to a shout, "And if she _were_ right here, _EDEN_, I'd turn to her and say: 'Aria T'Loak, will you be my bondmate!'" Shinji took several deep breaths to try and calm himself, ignoring that most of the present crew were now gaping openly at him, particularly the asari, "…and she is standing _right behind me,_ isn't she?"

"I am," came Aria's voice, and Shinji turned about, exhaling his pent up stress and unable to offer anything other than a weary, apologetic smile, "Well?" she asked.

He felt his cheeks burn but did as he promised and forced himself to look at her dead on, "_Will you_… be my bondmate?"

She took a few steps forward until she stood alongside him, "If the question still stands, then I suppose so does my answer: Yes."

"Y-you mean you're really okay?"

"And why wouldn't I be?" she asked. She then turned her head to regarded him inquisitively, "No idea, _really_?"

"Uhm…"

For that brief instant, she allowed herself a smile, "You really are an idiot…"

"Yes, yes I am…and you are so going to make me pay later, aren't you?"

Aria cocked her head, "You are due in your quarters at the end of the hour, and yes, I will probably have you on your knees before me..."

"You…want me to propose properly?"

Shinji could tell she was suppressing a smirk, "Who said anything about proposing?"

EDEN let out such a disgusted groan that she inadvertently channelled it through her platform, the shipwide comm. network, and every single PA system on Omega.

Tisala emerged from the rear elevator, glancing about at the amassed crew, "Someone want to tell me what's going on?"

Aria looked to her, "I'll explain later. Let's just say I'm starting to have a very good day."

Tisala glanced between them, "Is it because EDEN looks like she's about to have some kind of nervous breakdown?"

Aria glanced at the AI, "No, that's just a bonus."

EDEN's eye twitched, her irises flicking between colours.

Garrus then descended to the deck, busy adjusting his Omnitool, "Happy announcements aside. I think you should take a look at this…"

Tisala took her place by Shinji's side as Tara emerged onto the bridge a moment later, "Okay, what did I miss?" murmured the former spectre in his ear.

Shinji looked about to respond, then just averted his eyes almost bashfully away, "I…I think I'll let Aria tell you. How are you?" he suddenly asked, changing the subject with a distinct lack of subtlety, "You look like you just woke up."

She stretched her arms upwards, "I did…"

Shinji frowned, "I thought you said you hated sleeping during the day."

"I do. Let's just say I haven't been sleeping too well these past few days."

Shinji realised that concern for others was very effective at focusing one's mind, "Are you okay?"

She smiled, "You really do worry too much, Shinji…"

Shinji noted that she'd dodged the question, but didn't press the matter as Garrus brought up something on a nearby display panel, "This is the response I received from my contact."

Shinji approached the screen. On it was an image of a handwritten message that, oddly enough, someone had gone to the trouble of writing out in Japanese, all but one word of it anyway. Garrus adjusted a control and the message was then translated into various languages.

**To: Garrus Vakarian**

**From: ?**

**Subject: FW: RE: A Job Interview**

**Message body: Wards, level 6, Section 12b. Tomorrow, 17:26 Local. Have the pirate drop her Anchor and sail away.**

**Mist**

"The Wards?" read Tara, "Does this person mean the Citadel Wards?"

Garrus nodded, "Seems so."

"The section referred to has been in disuse since the end of the Reaper war," commented EDEN.

"Strange message," said Tisala, "What do they mean 'drop the anchor and sail away'?"

"In nautical terms, it does seem to be a contradiction…" murmured EDEN.

"No it's not," said Shinji, his eyes going between the English and Japanese versions. Even before his mother had crammed her knowledge into his head, he had held at least a relatively fluent understanding of the western dialect, "Its wordplay. She wants to speak to me alone…"

EDEN blinked, "Ah yes, I see…"

"Well I don't. How do you work that out?" asked Tisala.

Shinji pointed to the original image, "Whoever it is, the only word they didn't write in Japanese was anchor, written with a capital A." he explained, carefully enunciating the English word so it slipped round his translator.

"Your point?" asked Tara.

"You only write like that with a proper noun," said Shinji.

"Meaning anchor is a person…" nodded the quarian, catching on.

"EDEN…" prompted Shinji. She inclined her head in response. The word was highlighted across the screens. Briefly, all the various interpretations were translated back to Japanese, only they did the same with the outstanding word this time. The kanji was then translated back again, but only translating the offending word as far as to spell it out in the script of the various languages."

"_Ikari…" _intoned Tisala, "But who is this person, and what's up with the word games?"

"Considering who it is, it's really not very surprising," said Garrus with sad irony.

"And just who is this person sending us cryptic messages?" asked Tara.

"Just an old friend with a slight flare for the theatrical."

"You're not going alone," said Tisala, "A supposed friend or not, we don't know what might happen."

"You'll have to," said Garrus, "The message was the first test. If you couldn't even decrypt the instructions then you wouldn't really be worth my associate's time of day. The same could be said for not being able to simply board the Citadel and reach the meeting place on time."

"We're the ones being interviewed," said Tisala, regarding the message on the screen.

"No," corrected Garrus, "_He's_ the one being interviewed," he said, nodding at Shinji.

"Then why doesn't this person want to speak to me?" asked Aria, "It's my operation after all."

"Maybe," replied Garrus, "but he's the captain of the ship you want to hire my friend for. You might say my associate is just…_curious, e_specially after everything that's been happening in the public eye."

"We're not playing games," objected Tisala.

"Nevertheless," said Garrus with a sigh, "In this case you might just have to."

"Your friend should know there's no way I can just walk past Citadel immigration alone. Once they realise who I am, C-Sec will have me delayed for every single excuse they can think of…" Shinji trailed off, his head falling, "…and your friend _does_ know that, I'm guessing."

Garrus inclined his head, "All part of the game."

"I'll get him past immigration," said Aria, "It's never been a problem in the past."

Shinji shook his head, "You read it: you have to drop me and leave."

"Then what do we do?" asked Tara.

Shinji paced slowly, "I need to get on board some other way."

EDEN nodded in thought, "The message said nothing about picking you up again afterward, so once you're on board, I should be able to trick the Citadel main computer into thinking you've already passed immigration, but I would recommend waiting until the last moment before departure before doing it. If I do it immediately after we drop you, there is a chance C-Sec may notice you are registered as being on board and the deception may be caught. Best wait until you're back at immigration and simply stroll out rather than risk an alarm being raised."

"And hope C-Sec doesn't have time to work out what just happened," said Tisala, "that is assuming we're actually going to be going through with this."

"I'll do it," said Shinji, "Easy compared to what I've already been through. Can you sneak me onto the Citadel some other way?"

Both former spectre and former C-Sec officer pondered it for a moment. Tisala spoke first, "There is a flight exclusion zone around the entire Citadel exterior with the exception of the departure and arrival flight lanes."

Garrus nodded, "It might be tight, but I'm confident we can pull something off…"

"When do we leave?" asked Aria.

"If we depart now, we should arrive at the Serpent Nebula around nine hundred hours Citadel Time," said Tisala, "That should give us enough time to get things moving."

Aria nodded, though she didn't seem happy about what had to now be done, "Right. Then get us moving," she then turned about and headed for the elevator. She stopped and looked back at the captain, "You. With me."

Shinji nodded at Tisala, indicating for her to proceed with the undocking sequence once all the crew were back aboard, he then followed after Aria.

-Ω-

"What's wrong?" he asked as the elevator closed behind him. He tried not to show how nervous he was at suddenly being alone with her now.

Shinji watched her hit the button for deck 1, "Absolutely nothing," she said and, without looking, hooked an arm round the back of his neck to draw him close, "Just rescheduling an appointment. Let's just say I felt the need to celebrate early. Why, are you complaining?"

"Not in the elevator, _please_…" came the exasperated voice of EDEN from all around.

Shinji glanced off to the side, unable to stop a smile from appearing on his face. Suddenly, he didn't feel worried any more. Suddenly, he was no longer afraid. He hooked his arms round her neck in turn to pull her down so his forehead touched hers, he felt her other arm come round the small of his back. He let her hold him like that for a moment. For just that pause, it was nothing playful, nothing lustful, they just spent a second sharing one another's presence, "No complaints whatsoever…"

All a resigned EDEN could be thankful for was that they at least managed to hold back until _after_ they reached his quarters…

-Ω-

Aria was already in the CIC when Shinji emerged from the elevator washed, redressed and feeling more than refreshed. He'd seen from the viewing port in his cabin that they were still travelling between relays, "Good morning, Captain," said Tisala cordially, and Shinji couldn't help but catch the slightly amused edge to her voice.

"Good Morning…" he replied, looking at her cautiously. He coughed once nervously, "So…how are we doing?"

Tisala nodded, "We're due to arrive at the nebula in a little over ten minutes."

He looked to EDEN, who seemed to be making a point not to look back, "EDEN, is something wrong?"

Her gaze flicked to him, "Why would something be wrong? You just carry on doing whatever you like."

Shinji sighed, "How long has she been sulking?"

"All morning," replied Garrus, "but she has come up with a plan to get you on board the Citadel."

EDEN inclined her head, "We will drop out of FTL and initiate a quick flypast of the Citadel under the pretence of overshooting our approach vector. Before circling back round, and utilising a precisely timed decompression of the primary airlock and an armour suit's thrusters, which I will control along with the ship's orientation, we should be able to position you safely against one of the lesser used service hatches close to the section of the Citadel dictated in the message. You should be easily able to override the locking mechanism with your Omnitool in order to gain access from there."

"Wait…" said Shinji, taking a step back from her, "Are you saying you want to get me on board the Citadel…by _firing me _at it?"

EDEN inclined her head, "That's the general idea, but don't worry, everything from the timing to the rate of decompression and minute adjustments necessary in your velocity and direction will be controlled remotely."

Shinji was about to comment that EDEN was barely in control of herself, and strongly suspected this was some sort of revenge, but chose to stay his tongue for now, "Alright. I'll put myself in your hands… wouldn't be the first time."

-Ω-

Shinji wasn't sure he trusted what was essentially just a set of heavy combat armour to double as an effective space suit, but he'd been informed confidently that it was most certainly designed to serve that purpose also.

The gleaming white armour was surprisingly lightweight, as was the helmet with its black tinted visor. He rolled his shoulders to test the mobility as the ship cruised through the clouds of the Serpent Nebula.

Tisala looked back from her panel at him, "You'd best get into-" she cut herself off however as the console dragged her attention back with an urgent alert. Her eyes lingered on the display for a moment, "_Ah_…"

Shinji set the helmet down on the co-pilot's chair, "What is it?"

"We have a complication…" said EDEN for her.

Shinji looked between them, "Meaning?"

"There's a large obstruction in our pre-planned flight path past the Citadel," said the pilot.

"Can you go around it?" asked Aria.

"Not exactly," replied Tisala, "take a look…"

The other asari approached and looked at the sensor readouts. Shinji heard her curse under her breath.

Shinji frowned and approached, "So what exactly is out there?" he asked, noticing that their flight path indicator did indeed show a huge mass present, but couldn't read the details due to them being written in Asari. And when Tisala had said large, she really had not been kidding. Based on the dimensions, Shinji probably would've gone with gargantuan rather than large.

Tisala settled back down in her seat, looking grimly at the display, "It's the Destiny Ascension..."

"The what?" asked Shinji.

"It's the flagship of the asari fleet," replied EDEN, "She's a dreadnought with a crew compliment of over ten thousand and firepower equivalent to nearly half the entire asari navy."

"If that wasn't an asari ship I'd think someone was compensating for something," commented Shinji.

"I'm guessing your _friend_ knew this would happen, Vakarian?" said Aria.

"I can't help but be slightly impressed," said EDEN, "We must assume our contact knew of the Ascension's presence and flightpath and therefore chose that section of the Citadel accordingly."

Tisala nodded, "Knowing that to get Shinji on board and in the best possible location as to avoid C-Sec detection, we'd have to do it right in front of the Destiny Ascension," She turned about, "Aria, I'm really starting to think this isn't worth the trouble just to meet one person."

"Is this person really that good, Garrus?" asked Shinji, his eyes locked on the sensor readout.

"I guarantee it. And I don't see any way of getting us into that compound without outside help."

Shinji took a breath to calm his nerves, "then we have no choice," he then turned to address their pilot, "Tisala, alter our course accordingly. We proceed as planned."

She looked at him with worry and then turned to Aria for confirmation. The pirate looked as though she wanted to say something to him, but then just nodded for her to proceed.

She inclined her head and turned unhappily back to her console to enter a series of commands, "Course laid in. Control passed to main computer. All yours, EDEN…"

Shinji picked up his helmet and turned about, "If anybody wants me…I'll be in the airlock."

He paused by Aria, not sure what to say in the current situation.

She spoke before he could, "Don't take long."

He smiled, "I'll be right back."

He then entered the port airlock and sealed it behind him, locking his helmet into place and then settling down on the bench within. He leaned his head back against the bulkhead.

Now he was alone again, and suddenly he was starting to feel that fear once more. He pressed a control on his Omnitool, "EDEN…?"

Her voice sounded from within his helmet's communicator, "Yes, Shinji-kun?"

"Notify me when it's time, but until then, I don't suppose you could-" before Shinji could even finish the request, the sound of a single piano note resonated through the silence, followed by another, and another, until the song began to flow.

"I thought Pachelbel might do," said EDEN gently.

"Yes," breathed Shinji as the tension melted from him, sinking down slightly, "That will do nicely. Thank you, Misato-san…"

It took him a few seconds to realise what name he had spoken, but didn't bother to correct the error.

EDEN didn't mind.

-Ω-

"Ma'am…?" said the tactical officer on board the Ascension's bridge, "you might want to come and take a look at this."

"What is it?" asked Lidanya, setting down the pad in her hand to look over her officer's shoulder.

"A ship has just entered the exclusion zone beyond the authorised flight areas."

She began to turn away, "Then leave it for the patrol ships."

"I would, but based on their trajectory, it looks like they're going to make a direct pass by us."

The matriarch regarded the sensor readout, frowning at the image of the unknown vessel, "Is it an Alliance ship?"

The officer shook her head, "No, Ma'am. According to our databases, the ship was entered into the official registry just yesterday. According to this, she originated in the Terminus systems."

Lidanya did a quick scan of the display, "Normandy-Class…Thunder Child? Now that's quite a bit of firepower for a private vessel."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Open a channel."

The comms officer complied and entered a quick series of commands, "Channel opened, ma'am."

Lidanya stepped forward, "Terminus Vessel, this is Matriarch Lidanya of the Destiny Ascension. You have entered a no-fly zone. State your intent."

"Incoming visual."

Lidanya inclined her head, "Put them through."

"Hello, Lidanya," came Aria's voice, "How are the kids?"

It was only thanks to her centuries of military training and discipline that Lidanya was able to resist the urge to groan in dismay, "They're fine, Aria. Thank you for asking," responded the officer with extremely forced politeness, "How's the consort?"

"Alive and well. Soon to be bondmate, actually, though I haven't made any official announcement yet."

"Why, _congratulations_," replied Lidanya, her tone unyielding and refusing to be baited, "I'll be expecting my invitation through any day then, shall I?"

"I'll make sure to send it out myself."

"_Good_. Now…what the hell are you doing?"

"So sorry, Lidanya, had a slight navigational error on our approach."

"Is that so?" enquired the matriarch tiredly.

"Ship's kind of new. Nice body, but a really glitchy computer…human design, you see. But I assure you that I'm here for perfectly peaceful reasons."

"That's a lot of armament for someone here on peaceful pretences."

"This, coming from you…"

"Enough games, Aria. I'm not the council, and I'm not someone who will allow herself to be bossed around by the likes of you. You will slave both your weapons and navigational systems to my central computer for the duration of your stay. Once the transfer is complete, we will return you to the docking area."

"By all means, Lidanya. I'm always glad to be of service…"

"Ma'am, they're slowing down," said the tactical officer.

The matriarch looked briefly over at the panel and back, "What are you up to, Aria?"

The pirate scowled at her, "You're asking us to transfer control of two of this ship's main systems over to you. The main computer is fucked up as it is without us asking it to multitask. So, if you don't mind, I'd rather do it holding _still._ Unless, of course, you don't mind us running the risk of ramming into you head-on."

Lidanya's instinct was flaring up. Aria was definitely up to something. But then, she realised, it was rare for Aria T'Loak _not_ to be up to something.

The matriarch watched Aria carefully, noting that while she appeared to be paying attention to her, the Ascension captain could tell the pirate truly had her attention focused on something else.

"Switchover complete, ma'am. We have control."

Lidanya regarded Aria warily, not taking her eyes off the pirate as she spoke, "Very well. Lock in their auto-pilot and get them moving. Enjoy your stay, Aria. I expect Citadel control will have a fine waiting for you upon arrival."

Aria didn't entertain the conversation further. She merely inclined her head curtly in response and then nodded to someone else off-screen. The link was then cut off.

Lidanya paced the width of the bridge slowly, observing the other vessel as they roped in its control systems and brought it about. She rested her hand on the tactical officer's console as she spoke to her, "I don't care if we have control of that ship. Don't take your eyes off them until they're fully docked. Understood?"

"Understood, ma'am…"

Though she didn't fault the many under her command who were guilty of it, Matriarch Lidanya considered herself above romanticising a criminal such as Aria T'Loak. Neither did political manoeuvrings or backroom deals mean anything to her. Lidanya prided herself on being a very black and white sort of an officer –with a strong affiliation to remaining in the white. And so, if Aria _did_ choose to try something, Lidanya would show no hesitation in demonstrating to her that not everybody in the universe was willing to cower to her every whim.

-Ω-

While Aria kept Lidanya's attention focused on the Thunder Child itself, Shinji made his move.

"Are you ready, Shinji-kun?" asked EDEN through his armour system.

"Not really…" he replied, glancing off to the side as he stood before the airlock, "but complaining never really got me anywhere, so let's get on with it."

"That's the spirit. Would you like me to play you some more music during the procedure? For some reason I can't help but think Strauss' Blue Danube would be appropriate."

"No thank you, EDEN…"

"As you wish. We're slowing to a full stop. Airlock release in twelve seconds…"

Shinji was very aware of the sound of his heart as he braced himself, knees partially bent.

"Five seconds…"

He took a deep breath and timed his exhale along with the thrust of his legs just as the outer hatch was blown open. He suddenly found himself hurtling through weightlessness with the moving shadow of the Thunder Child's mass behind him.

Shinji twirled himself over once and back upright again, just as the microjets in his suit fired to subtly adjust his course and velocity.

The surface of the Citadel raced up to meet him and Shinji sighted the hatchway. As recommended, he spun himself backwards at the last second, bracing his hands and feet behind him both to soften the landing and to nullify the risk of his visor being cracked upon impact.

Shinji found the impact to be surprisingly gentle. His hands were gripped tightly onto a pair of rungs either side of the hatch, as if fearful that he might fall somehow. The magnetic clamps in his boots had him secured in a crouch against the aperture's surface.

Shinji released the breath he'd been holding and detached his feet from the door, securing them on the ledge just in front of it, keeping his hands braced off to the side.

"Shinji, what's your status?" came Tisala's voice.

He looked warily up at the dreadnaught looming over him, obscured only by the much smaller frigate that acted to hide him from view.

He fought to reply, but having just been catapulted out of a ship at a space station, all that came out was, "That really is a big ship…also not dead."

"Confirmed, Shinji," replied Tisala, a note of relief in her voice. "The Ascension is assuming control of our systems remotely. I suggest you hurry."

He brought his Omnitool round and triggered the override function. He waited with apprehension as the device whirred silently in the vacuum, painfully aware as the Thunder Child began to veer off as it was forced onto a new course, "Come on…"

Suddenly, he felt the airlock jolt against his side and it opened up into darkness, "I'm in."

"Good," replied Tisala, her voice distorting as they moved out of range, "Oh and, Shinji?"

"Yes?"

"_Congratulations_…"

"And _there it is_…" he moaned, rolling his eyes as he slipped inside and closed the hatch behind him.

Despite being engulfed in darkness, a feeling of relief washed over Shinji as he felt his armour tug and shift slightly as the airlock was pressurised around him.

Once his Omnitool had indicated that it was safe to do so, Shinji released the seals on his helmet, a slight hiss being released as the remaining pressure was normalised.

Shinji exhaled a calm breath, wiping the sweat from his face and brushing his matted hair back before triggering the inner airlock.

A welcomed rush of cold air came in to meet Shinji as he stepped out into the darkened corridor.

He spared a careful glance around. This section of the Citadel was apparently deserted and, as one might expect, very little power was diverted this way beyond basic life support as a result.

He released the catches on the sides of his armour and shrugged free of the torso section, letting it fall to the floor as he kicked off the lower parts.

The armour may have been seen as a useful thing to keep by some, assuming a straight-up firefight was their style, but Shinji preferred to be light on his feet in combat, fighting at range if possible and closing in quickly to engage hand-to-hand where needed. Plus, his regular outfit had enough light armouring and shields to it in order to stop basic projectiles.

He shook himself out slightly, the tails of his coat unfurling behind him as he reached back to confirm the presence of his sidearm. Shinji had left his M-77 aboard the Thunder Child in favour of a basic heavy pistol, as he knew he would have to dispose of any gun he carried before passing immigration.

After confirming he was alone, the Third Child began moving, walking silently through the deserted sections. His path was illuminated only by the light from the map display on his Omnitool.

Shinji kept rapt focus on the device on his arm as not to be disturbed by the all-encompassing darkness about him. The only sounds were the occasional bleep from his Omnitool and the light tapping of his footsteps.

Shinji turned a corner and almost fell down a small series of steps hidden in the blackness. With a mild curse he continued on, only to stagger back against a wall when he heard a quiet skittering coming from somewhere up ahead. He gasped in shock as something brushed past his leg, his hand going for his pistol, only for the light coming from his Omnitool to briefly illuminate the moving outline of a Keeper as it went about its business.

He shook his head, "Watch where you're going, you-" but cut himself off as the sound of something powering up became audible and dived round a bend just as a blue shaft of light lit up the corridor.

Shinji's chest heaved as he pressed himself flat against a steel wall, not daring to look back round the corner.

"Please do not disturb the keepers."

Shinji detached himself from the wall and peeked about the bend to spy a projector which had been formerly hidden in the shadows. The familiar form of Avina now stood there, waiting patiently in place for an inquiry.

He waited a moment for her to vanish again, and then a moment longer to give his heart time to descend from his throat.

The section the meeting was scheduled to take place in was deserted also. It must have been in some use however as it was currently illuminated by the gentle lighting above.

The precise location turned out to be a storage bay. Crates of differing sizes labelled in various languages stood on shelving units that both ringed and bisected the room.

Shinji glanced down at his time indicator, realising he still had a little while to wait until the scheduled time.

It wasn't like he could just go for a stroll round the Presidium in the meantime, so he positioned himself between two sets of shelves for cover and sank down to the floor to make himself comfortable.

He drummed his fingers on his knees. He was tempted to open a comm link to the Thunder Child but he wanted to keep his ears sharp for any approach.

With nothing else to do, Shinji shrugged and opened a new message on his Omnitool.

**From: Shinji Ikari**

**To: Consort Sha'ira**

**Subject: RE(56): To my fellow Consort.**

**Message Body: Hello, Sha'ira. Hope you're doing well as always. Crouched down in the Citadel Wards right now, would rather not say where precisely (had thought it best to avoid clashes with immigration if you catch my meaning, you usually do).**

**I really don't think I'll have time to drop by and say hello, but I thought it only polite to let you know I was here anyway.**

**Thank you for your advice in your previous message. I suppose I do overthink things a little too much.**

**I'd like to say I've had an uneventful day, but considering what I've said so far I'm sure you've already guessed that isn't the case. I'm sorry this is so brief, as I have a somewhat urgent matter to deal with. However, when you consider that a sizable part of my day has thus far involved being fired out of an airlock to dodge a dreadnought, you can imagine that sometimes a person just needs to talk.**

**Hope to talk to you again soon.**

**Kindest regards**

**Shinji Ikari**

**P.S. Getting married/bonded (unsure of right word to use), have no idea what this entails. Really hasn't sunk in yet. Expect panic attack soon. Thought I'd let you know.**

Shinji breathed a silent sigh, watching as the indicator informed him the message had been sent and received.

He waited there in silence for a while, watching as the moments ticked over until the appointed time finally arrived.

Suddenly, out the corner of his eye, there was movement. At least Shinji _thought_ it was movement, more like a barely discernable distortion in the air that soon vanished. He kept still, making no move to show he'd been alerted.

With an exaggerated show of getting up to stretch his arms, Shinji stepped slowly out into the room.

He controlled his breathing, making a point to look down at his Omnitool.

There was a breeze, the slightest of disturbances in the air. Shinji turned about to pace slightly. Then it came again, this time from the other direction.

There was no noise. However there was definitely something there, something was moving with absolute silence and with almost perfect stealth. Whatever it was, Shinji got the strongest sense that it was circling him.

He froze. That was when he felt it: the unmistakable warmth of another person's body heat radiating from extremely close proximity. He shivered as someone blew a cold stream of air across his right cheek.

Someone was toying with him.

He felt his brow clench into a scowl. If this was all part of the test, then so be it.

Shinji's hand shot out with a blur to latch on to where he pictured the figure's arm might be, only for what felt like a slender, upturned palm to intercept him and clamp firmly onto his own lower arm. Shinji's palm in turn grasped hold of what felt like the small of his opponent's arm.

It wasn't Shinji who had his adversary though. He felt the form pirouette around, detaching his hand and accelerating his turn until he ended up being spun clean off the ground by his own momentum and slammed onto his back.

Shinji didn't pause. He leaned into his shoulders and leaped back to his feet. His hand lashed out, clipping something unseen. He assumed it was a hip though, as he felt a hand again grip down on top of his arm and hurl him away to the side once more. Before the assailant could act, Shinji pulled himself up and swung his arm around. His palm was stopped mid-air though as it impacted and grasped firmly onto something that was as soft as it was invisible.

Suddenly, a sweet, amused chuckle emanated from thin air, "You could at least buy me a drink first, Ikari Shinji-kun."

That voice told him several things. First: female, though that fact was fairly obvious considering what he now suspected he was squeezing in his palm. Second was that, whilst her accent was hard to place, Shinji couldn't help but notice the slightest Kansai inflections mixed in there, and then there was the fact she'd used his family name first along with a traditional honorific.

Shinji strongly suspected that if his translator failed, he would have little trouble understanding her words.

Shinji's hand flicked open with sudden embarrassment, only for the figure's other hand to clamp firmly onto his upper arm. He turned his palm up and gripped onto her wrist in kind. He then pushed forward and pinned the invisible figure up against a shelving unit, their arms grappling against each other.

Then came that voice again, "Do you think yourself capable of dancing with a shadow, Shinji-kun?"

Shinji smiled, "I've danced with Angels and come out on top. I assure you, I'm quite capable…" he then remembered the name at the bottom of the message, and then there was that wordplay too.

Mist.

_No…_

His smile tightened into a smirk, "…_Kasumi-san._"

"Goto Kasumi," replied the voice, amusement tinged in there, "pleasure to meet you." And then the shelves tilted back slightly, and Shinji felt what was unmistakably the flat of a boot kick him half-way across the room.

Shinji groaned and pushed himself up onto his elbows. He looked up just as a figure cloaked in robes as black as shadow materialised above him. Stygian eyes glinted out from under the hood, as if she were contemplating some private joke, "But just Kasumi will do…"

Shinji regarded the pistol she now held loosely in one hand. He nodded at it, "You stole my gun."

She inclined her head, "And you stole mine. Quite impressive."

Shinji smiled grudgingly and reached into his inside pocket to retrieve the black sidearm, "You noticed…"

"Like I said:" said Kasumi, bending down to take back her weapon, "_quite impressive_. If I hadn't, well now…that would've been remarkable."

Shinji watched her put the weapon away. She then did the same with his, "Am I getting that back?"

She sighed, "I would really like to, Shinji-kun, but if I started giving some of my acquisitions back, where do I stop?"

Shinji pushed himself to his feet. Kasumi made no move to stop him and merely kept watching him with those dark, inquisitive eyes.

"So, a kleptomaniac?" he asked.

"To the bone," she replied, totally unashamedly. She tilted her head curiously, "Does that bother you?"

Shinji took a deep breath and then let it out as one long, tired sigh, "_No_…between me, my borderline-insane AI, my crazy pirate wife-to-be-"

"-_Oh_, congratulations-"

"-thank you, and the rest of my crew…_no_…I think you'll fit right in."

"Well that's good to hear. And I'm happy to inform you that you have passed the interview. I'll take the job."

"Really? Has Garrus given you the details?"

"None at all. Contact is first, details later."

"B-but you do realise this job might be next to impossible, and extremely dangerous too."

"Come now, Shinji-kun, you don't need to tempt me further. I've already accepted, haven't I?"

Shinji regarded her blankly, "Good…"

-Ω-

Unfortunately, the section of the Wards they had been in did not have a transit stop linked to it and so the pair were forced to cut out onto the Presidium in order to reach the nearest one.

Shinji had however paused to send the signal back to EDEN to begin her hack of the immigration system.

He lingered in the elevator for a moment until the confirmation came through that she had been successful.

Shinji kept his head down as they emerged into the vast open space. Kasumi was having a far easier time of it, thanks in no small part to the luxury of her being almost completely invisible.

Shinji winced as the sudden assault of bright light struck his retina, "I just had a thought," he said quietly, wiping his eyes, "if we get split up, how would I even know?"

"Don't worry, Shinji," she replied, "I'll stick to you like-"she abruptly cut herself off.

Shinji walked a few steps, frowning as no further words came. He glanced back in the approximate direction of where he assumed Kasumi was, not paying attention as a figure fell into step at his side, "Kasumi-san?"

She remained pointedly silent.

"Your invisible friend is quite shy, Shinji," said Sha'ira as she walked calmly along by his side.

Shinji cocked his head in agreement, "Hah, _yeah_..."He responded, glancing briefly at her out the corner of his eye and back forward again.

His attention snapped back to her and he almost leaped out of his skin with a panicked yelp.

The asari blinked, but seemed otherwise unsurprised by his outburst.

Shinji fought to get his breathing under control, "Sha'ira?" he gasped, glancing nervously about, "How do you keep popping up like that?"

Her smile widened a fraction, "It's all in the art of mingling without being noticed."

"W-what are you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious? I got your message, had some free time, and decided to come and talk to you." Her brow twitched into the barest of frowns, "I must say I find it quite rude that you did not tell me in advance that you planned to visit."

"Yeah, well I really didn't want to be a bother. And how did you even find me?"

She cocked her head, as if confused by the question, "Few are more conspicuous than those attempting to look inconspicuous, my friend. There is also the fact you were walking around wearing a bright white coat whilst talking to yourself."

Shinji smiled tiredly, "Well, either way, it's good to see you again."

"And you," she reached out to gently rest her hand against the side of his face, "you look well, if somewhat tired. Have you been sleeping well?"

Shinji flushed as she let her touch linger a moment before pulling back, "Better than I used to, if you catch my meaning."

She giggled, "I always catch your meaning. On that note, I must also say I am not happy you sprung such news upon me as an afterthought in your message. But I am overjoyed to hear it either way. I expect a full description at a more opportune time. I will however escort you to immigration, as your invisible friend seems to be getting impatient."

"H-how can you tell? And now that I think about it, how do you know there's even someone there?"

"Because I dislike the concept that you have become delusional enough into believing there is someone there who is not…" she paused to hold up her arm, "she also just stole my charm bracelet. May I have it back?"

"Kasumi!" barked Shinji.

A relenting breath emanated from thin air and the pilfered object swiftly reappeared on the consort's wrist, "I was merely getting your attention."

The consort began walking once more at his side, "I am trying to keep a low profile," said Shinji.

Sha'ira nodded, "I know. I also know the duty officer currently working the desk at immigration."

"You do?"

"Well, I know what she likes…"

"A client?"

"That is not for me to say," she replied curtly as they boarded the nearby transit.

Kasumi reappeared on one of the rear seats once the car was safely in the air, "Ah, Kasumi. I thought I recognised your touch. It really has been too long."

"You know each other?" asked Shinji, glancing back at the pair.

"Well," said Kasumi, "she knows what I like."

Shinji shifted in his seat and decided not to push for further detail.

-Ω-

After getting to the immigration desk, the asari clerk ended up checking no less than six times that Sha'ira was indeed there of her own free will, even going so far as to pass her a datapad with the words 'If you want us to jump him, just give the word,' written on it in High Thessian.

After three minutes of checks, Shinji really didn't help matters by sighing, "What did I ever do to you?" a little louder than intended, triggering almost murderous glares from every C-Sec officer within earshot. The situation was ended swiftly however after Sha'ira whispered something about a discount to the clerk, who then relented once she made sure nobody else had heard.

It was with no small relief that Shinji found himself passing through security and into the main departure lounge without further incident.

Shinji also noted that neither Kasumi's weapons nor presence had triggered an alarm. He therefore had to assume that whatever technique or technology it was she used to stay hidden, it was as effective against security scanners as it was eyes.

Sha'ira escorted them as far as the docking bay, where the Thunder Child was waiting. Shinji turned to bid her farewell, "Well it was nice of you to come down here with us. I'm sorry if I wasted your free time, Sha'ira."

"I would never call it a waste. I will be expecting an invitation of course, once the plans are made. I would be honoured to attend as your guest, I suspect Aria will have enough candidates of her own."

Shinji smiled and bowed politely, "I'll put you first on the list, and thanks for your advice about the ceremony thing. You…_were_ joking about the whole bloodletting part though, right?"

She just laughed her small, sweet laugh one final time, "I'll leave that up to you to discover." And after a brief embrace that startled Shinji more than a little, the consort then returned back the way she came.

The Third Child exhaled tiredly and turned about to find Kasumi leaning forward on the guard rail, looking out at the Thunder Child.

He followed her as she turned and headed into the airlock, "Garrus was telling the truth," she said, stopping just beyond the threshold.

"About what?" asked Shinji as he stopped by her side.

"It really does look like that ship, _only_…" she trailed off.

"Only, what?"

She turned to look at him, her dark eyes glinting with mischief, "Only much more…_me_."

Shinji's eyes widened a tad, his expression then softening just as the airlock closed behind them, "Then welcome aboard, Kasumi-san…"

-Ω-

_To be continued…_

-XA-

[A/N] Wow this one ended up longer than intended, like very much longer. Sorry about that, especially if you devoured it in one sitting. A fun one to write in particular this one and by the way things are shaping up, this fic might just be ongoing for quite a bit yet. Hope to see you all next time.

Catch you in Chapter 21: Breaking and Entering


	21. Chapter 21: Breaking and Entering

[A/N] Welcome back, valued compatriots, or if you're a new reader and you've just marathoned this right from chapter one, wow…please stop reading here and take a break. Hope this one hasn't taken too long to come out, that annoying thing called life sort of delayed this one a few days. Just realised I've been writing this for coming up five months now. Really has been a blur, twenty-one chapters in and I still remember sitting down to do chapter one on sheer impulse after way too much caffeine and a new game of Mass Effect (which I should also probably get back to at some point, but regardless) Glad you're all still here, both to my new and valued regular readers, hope you enjoy this instalment…

**Chapter 21: Breaking and Entering**

Kasumi had been oddly if not _bizarrely_ quiet. Shinji stood at the entrance to the meeting room, observing her in silence when someone entered behind him.

The hand coming to rest innocuously on his shoulder confirmed their identity, "Hello, Aria…" Shinji murmured, keeping his attention fixed on the darkly clothed woman sat at the table with her back to them.

The thief's attention was transfixed on the holographic display in the centre, which was now blanketed by detailed security layouts and diagrams of the surrounding terrain. The only sign of life from her was the occasional tilting of her head. To Shinji it was almost reminiscent of the way an animal would act when circling and regarding its prey just before pouncing.

"Anything?" asked the asari.

Shinji shook his head, "Nothing. She's just been sitting there. Two hours and not a single word." After enthusiastically exploring the ship, which included at one point making a disturbing query about the value of EDEN's platform, and then stopping to mark a certain seat in the port lounge as 'her spot', Kasumi had, without any urging, made her way to the meeting room where the model of the structure still hovered. She had then sat herself down, palms resting atop the table, and begun her contemplations.

"And why are you still standing watching her?"

Shinji sighed, "She told me not to move; needs me to provide a valuable service."

"What kind of service?"

Kasumi's finger shifted just enough to nudge the cup sitting by her hand an inch to the side.

Shinji rolled his eyes and crossed over to the table to snatch the cup up, "Somebody needs to bring her more tea. She's almost drank her way through my entire supply," he then trudged back to the door, pausing by Aria's side, "Did I mention that I'm the captain of this ship?" he then departed, groaning as he went.

Aria watched him go and then entered the room to slowly circle the still woman, assessing her... Kasumi's eyes didn't even shift when the asari entered her field of vision.

"He's very good," Kasumi suddenly said, cutting through the silence yet not shifting her gaze away.

"What do you mean?" asked Aria warily, stopping as Kasumi's eyes flicked to her.

"Tea, very good with tea... I asked his pretty robot friend, but she didn't seem to have much in the way of skill in that area. Shinji is very good at making tea.

"He may try to use his hands as a thief, but that's not what they are by nature. No, he does not have a thief's hands. His are the hands of an artist; a musician; a lover…but I'm guessing you know that already," said Kasumi, her tone slightly mischievous.

"Well thank you for those words of wisdom. I'm so glad we brought you along."

Kasumi's affixed smile twitched slightly, and then she went quiet again.

Shinji re-entered a moment later to find Aria sat in the chair directly opposite the thief. He glanced between them as he sat the green tea down by Kasumi. Her left hand moved to shift the cup six millimetres to the left, which she considered the perfect position to pick up and drink from in one fluidic move without needing to look.

Shinji dropped into the chair to Aria's right, "Has she said anything?"

"Nothing important," she replied, glancing at him and then back at Kasumi to address her, "So can it be done?"

Kasumi showed no indication that she'd heard her.

Aria's frown spread into a scowl and she swung her hand about and slammed it loudly down onto the table-top.

Shinji was the only one who flinched. Kasumi remained impassive.

He watched the asari's fingertips shift until her nails began to dig into the flat surface, a tell-tale crackling of dark energy starting to play over them.

Deciding that something should be done before blood was spilled, Shinji slipped off his left glove and reached up to rest his hand atop Aria's.

Shinji felt her tendons tense and the hand froze. The gentle reverberations of biotic power tingled under his touch as he drew his middle and ring fingers back into the very slightest of caresses.

Shinji felt her shudder ever so slightly. He didn't need to say anything.

After a pause, Aria's hand relaxed under his and she drew it slowly back, dropping it down and atop his thigh as opposed to her side.

Shinji was unsure if the action had even been a conscious one on her part as she dug her fingernails in almost painfully, as if she were clenching a fist at her side. All the while Aria glowered at Kasumi.

The asari seemed to catch herself however and her grip went flat, only her middle finger shifting to unconsciously trail back and forth over the surface of his leg, still not taking her angry eyes off the human across the table.

Whilst Kasumi hadn't been disturbed by the loud noise, Shinji did note that she was now looking through the image and at him directly.

The thief hummed a single, intrigued note yet vocalised nothing. She was amazed how much she had learned from such a brief, silent exchange.

Kasumi did speak a moment later though, "Yes."

"Yes, what?" asked Aria.

"It can be done," clarified Kasumi, "but there are conditions, beyond my fee, of course."

Aria's gaze narrowed, "Well?"

"First; should anything catch my eye whilst down there, I get to help myself to it."

"I couldn't care either way, so fine. What else?"

Kasumi inclined her head, "Secondly, a favour."

"I'm listening," replied Aria.

"Not from you," she clarified, extending one index finger, "from _him_."

Shinji frowned, "What kind of favour?"

Kasumi's smile turned into a smirk, "Now that really would be telling..."

Shinji regarded her for a brief pause. He then nodded, "Done."

"Very well," she responded, finishing her beverage and standing up, "I'll get prepared and call everyone once I'm ready."

Shinji inclined his head curtly. The thief then turned and left.

The consort sighed, "First Tevos, then Tisala and now her. I'm developing a backlog of owed favours…"

"Tevos?" asked Aria.

Shinji shrugged, "I told her I owed her one after she helped make the red tape vanish after what happened on the Citadel."

Aria was quiet for a brief spell, "Be careful, Shinji."

"Aria?"

"People like you and me: It's dangerous to owe too many favours." A smirk pulled at the edge of her mouth, "Besides, you're a consort. When they say favours, just what do you think they might be talking about?"

Shinji laughed dismissively.

Aria just regarded him.

"_No…_" he said, catching her look.

Aria just kept looking.

"_No…_" he repeated, and Aria just inclined her head. He cocked an eyebrow up, "But…_Tevos_?"

"Oh, I could tell you stories…In fact I think I will later on."

"B-but, _Kasumi?_"

"I doubt she's after any romantic attachment, but that doesn't mean she doesn't want some attention."

Shinji flushed, "Tisala?"

Aria looked dryly at him, "Really? You _really_ have to ask?"

"Umm…"

Aria folded her arms, "You're really asking me if I think the sexually repressed exotic dancer with an _obvious_ crush isn't going to take the opportunity you've all but handed to her gilded and gift-wrapped on a silver platter?" She paused to sigh slightly, "I thought you said you knew how people worked."

Shinji shifted, "W-well, yeah, but not like _that_. That's just…rude…to try and assume those things."

Aria inclined her head, "Well I'd suggest you start trying. It's sort of your job."

Shinji opened his mouth to speak, only for his brow to furrow in confusion, "You're taking this…oddly well, much better than I am. I'm confused."

"You're always confused. But I only get upset if you don't let me in on the fun either during or afterward. My concept of jealousy is far different to yours. I also understand the difference between recreation, business and romance."

"So you're always okay just so long as I tell you about it and…_share _it with you?"

"That's right." She then looked at him curiously, "You seem shocked."

Shinji blushed slightly, "No, just…marvelling at how much you still surprise me sometimes."

Aria smirked, "I haven't even gotten started yet."

Shinji just smiled and stood up to leave. He almost got to the door when Aria's voice stopped him, "The favour to Tisala…"

Shinji stopped to look back at her, "What of it?"

"I don't want you to wait for her to ask. Once this operation is done, go and see her."

Shinji looked at Aria with confusion, "W-why?"

"Because she needs it. She's distracted and it could become a liability unless something is done, and that's your job, not mine."

"You've noticed something's up with her?"

"Of course I have. I'm not blind."

"Well I've tried asking her but she keeps shrugging it off. Do you know what's wrong?"

Aria seemed reluctant to answer. She entwined her fingers together and looked away, "She…has an ability."

Shinji frowned, "An ability?"

Aria stood up and began pacing the circumference of the table, "An asari mental discipline. It's used for repression of memories. It's mostly learned by commandos trained for infiltration and espionage. She used it not long after coming to Omega in order to shrug off a particularly bad memory. I learned about it second hand. It's not how the technique was intended to be used; it's supposed to be for concealment of information in the event of capture and interrogation. Using it the way she did can cause mental instability, especially if the memory can influence personality, but it wasn't like it had anything to do with me, and if that's how she chose to get by then that was her decision."

"Tisala's been…repressing a memory?"

Aria inclined her head, "Repressing or manipulating."

"What's it a memory of?"

This time Aria didn't answer, "Not for me to say. Ask your sex-bot out there. She's the one who dragged it up, though you were there at the time."

Shinji's eyes flicked to the side, his brow furrowing as he fought to remember, "I was?" he mumbled. He turned his attention back to Aria, "And, what? You think I can…_fix her_?"

The door opened as she approached, "Why not?" she asked, pausing briefly by his side, "you helped fix me."

Shinji was momentarily stunned by the simple admission, as normally Aria played cards like that much closer to her chest. He narrowed his gaze almost inquisitively at her, "I did tell you I loved you, didn't I?"

"Love you too," she replied dismissively, not looking back as she departed and leaving the Third Child in somewhat bemused silence.

His smile vanished after a moment and he went over to the table, dropping down into a chair.

He sat in silent thought, pondering how best to address the situation. He then let out a long, weary breath, "EDEN?"

The nearby holographic representation swivelled. A tired sigh was his response, "Yes, Shinji-kun?"

He glanced up, "First of all, stop eavesdropping."

"I can't help it. I'm hardcoded to eavesdrop on you, much to my ever mounting dismay…"

Shinji sat back in his chair, "You remember how my life used to be simple?"

There was a brief pause, as if EDEN had to double-check, "No, I'm afraid I don't."

Shinji cocked his head, "I do... Things used to be really simple: It was either 'go to school, Shinji', or 'fight that Angel, Shinji' or at worst 'cook and clean for us, Shinji', I could get my head round that."

"As I –that is _Misato-_ recalls, you couldn't. The words 'nervous breakdown' and 'jibbering wreck' were thrown in there more than once."

"I didn't say I _preferred it, _I just said it was simple." He paused to think, "Do you know what's up with Tisala? And what did Aria mean when she said I was there? Can you check your flight recorders?"

"I think I know what she's talking about, but I'm unable to recall the actual video file for you to review."

"Why not?"

"Because the flight recorder has been modified and the section in question erased."

Shinji frowned, "Under whose authority?"

"Records show the section was isolated and erased under the authority of Executive Officer Tisala."

Shinji closed his eyes and groaned, "I'm pretty sure deleting things from the black box is against some kind of regulation."

"This is a private vessel, Shinji-kun. Strictly speaking there are no regulations."

"Then perhaps I should start _writing some,"_ he snapped, "Rule two: no messing with the flight recorder."

"I'll be sure to notify the crew should it ever be relevant. What's rule one, if you don't mind my asking."

"This is a Terminus vessel, you know what rule number one is."

EDEN grumbled something dejectedly in response.

"Alright then, if it's not in the recorder, can you at least _remember it_? It's one thing to mess with the black box, but even Tisala wouldn't try to hack your core programming."

"Of course not, and I do remember."

"Then why all the dancing around the subject?"

EDEN was silent for a moment. When she spoke, her voice was somewhat quieter, "Because sometimes it's not easy to admit when you've done something wrong. My head might not have been on right at the time, but that still doesn't excuse what I said, especially if she thought my 'disapproval' was in relation to what she was forced to do."

"And what was she forced to do?"

EDEN seemed hesitant to reply. She then let out a relenting sigh, "Her military record is still available, and I don't want to reveal anything too private, however I'd _suggest_ you start with Varis Island."

"You're not going to tell me outright either, are you?"

"It's not for me to say either. You accepted your position as consort, much to my chagrin. If she is your client, should it not be up to you to help her?"

Shinji rolled his eyes, "Never thought my own attendant would end up as a _client_. I need to get myself an acolyte or two…" he glanced off to the side, "Hey, EDEN…"

"_No_…"

"Never mind, just thought I'd ask."

Shinji turned his attention to the table-top console and entered a search for information. He read quickly through EDEN's dossier on the asari officer, noting several service awards but nothing revealing. He glanced at the very last award noted, "Tear of the Goddess…unclaimed?"

EDEN spoke up, "In the same way the Purple Heart is awarded to soldiers in the Alliance military injured in a conflict, this particular award was given to any asari who engaged and destroyed a banshee in direct combat."

"A banshee?"

"An Ardat-Yakshi, or an asari with the potential to become one, who has been repurposed by the Reapers."

"Sounds grim..."

"It was. Given the fate of asari born as Ardat-Yakshi; which is either to live in seclusion and be forbade romantic attachments for all their life –which is particularly bad considering their condition urges them to mate– or to live as renegades to be hunted down, their final fate of being transformed into the Reaper's drones was seen as particularly tragic by their people."

"They're not the only ones who see it that way…" murmured Shinji.

He then began reading, "Okay, 'Varis Island: Located in the southern peninsula sixteen miles southwest of mainland Iona, Thessia.'

"'An exclusion zone formerly surrounded the island as it was once the location of the Lisaris monastery; home to nearly three dozen registered Ardat-Yakshi. The island now serves as a memorial, the monastery having been destroyed during the Reaper's first wave and was in fact one of their initial targets. The retaliation and attempted recapturing of the island became what is now known as the Battle of Varis Island.'"

Shinji looked round at the blue hologram, "So, what? The Reapers were…_harvesting_ them?"

"An apt word. And yes, that's exactly what they were doing. Not to sound cold, but considering the Reapers were attempting to supress an entire population of biotics, the banshees would be considered invaluable foot soldiers. Their natural cunning and amplified-"

"-Yes," cut in Shinji, "I understand their motives. I was just objecting to the morality of it."

"The Reapers never had anything that could even be interpreted as morality. " Commented EDEN, "It's one of the things that made them so dangerous and, in a way, it is also why they lost."

"What do you mean?"

"Another story for another day. Continue."

Shinji cocked his head, "Okay, the _Battle_ of Varis Island…"

Shinji read the summary, of how when the assault force arrived, most of the island's populous had already been taken to be converted and redeployed elsewhere at the Reaper's leisure. But some of the residents had held out to enact a last line of defence. But that had only been to the detriment of the reinforcements that came. By the time backup had arrived, some of the remaining populous had already been converted on-site and many others were already in the thrall of the invaders.

The commando forces had held out for a while, but the constantly increasing number of their enemy eventually had them swept aside, and what had begun as an extraction operation swiftly turned into a massacre.

By the end, the Reapers had matched the asari almost precisely in number, and when half of the enemy number was comprised entirely of converted Ardat-Yakshi, it didn't take long for the few survivors to be forced into retreat.

"It sounds terrible. But I've been in some pretty bad battles before and I've never been pushed into repressing memories."

"Haven't you?"

Shinji remembered the black block in his memories that Aria had stumbled over, and also the blocked memories from his childhood, from when his mother was taken by the EVA, "Okay," he admitted, "perhaps I have…but she's a soldier. I know it was bad, but she's probably been in life or death situations before."

"_Perhaps_…you should recheck her file."

Shinji sighed and flipped his screen over to her record, reading it briefly through. He blinked as his brain briefly cross-referenced the information, "Oh..." his heart then sank, "_Oh_…oh god…I missed that?"

"To be fair, you were a bit preoccupied with me at the time."

Shinji began to stand, "I should-"

"-I think you should listen to Aria…and I can't believe I just said that. Wait until the mission is over. There are times and places, and this is not the time."

Shinji sank back down, regarding the screen with a frown, "How am I going to deal with this? What do I _say_? I couldn't even say something to you when Kaji died…that is…I couldn't say it to-"

"-I understand. And you are not who you once were. Though it pains me to say it, you _have_ changed. You are no longer the same child who Misato dragged out of the Third Angel's path all those years ago, and I think you will know what to say, when the time comes."

"If you say so," he murmured, standing up and heading for the door, "but even if I don't look like him, sometimes I still feel like it…"

-Ω-

Shinji stumbled upon Kasumi when he entered the lounge. She was sat in the traditional seiza position atop the chair that ran along the length of the viewing port. Her hands rested flat atop her thighs, eyes closed in quiet contemplation. A tiny smile was affixed on her face.

Shinji made to apologise for the intrusion, but thought better of actually speaking. He immediately began to back out of the door again.

"You don't have to leave, Shinji," she said, her eyes opening, head rising up just a little.

He entered with slight hesitation, "Was I interrupting?"

She shook her head slightly, "No, I was just working out some details." She unfolded herself from her seating position and dropped back into a far more lax posture, "Haven't sat like that in a long time. I suppose working with you has made me nostalgic."

Shinji walked forward, stopping in front of the viewing port to look out over the predominantly green shape that was Thessia as it loomed over them. The Thunder Child herself was hovering over one of the planet's many orbital stations in preparation to dock.

"Ever been to Thessia?" asked Kasumi, turning sideways in her seat to regard the planet also.

Shinji shook his head, "No, though I'd hoped my first visit to Aria's homeworld would be for nicer reasons than this…"

She grinned slightly, "You've got to be the most reluctant criminal I've ever met."

Shinji smirked, "You should see me when I'm _trying_ to be a criminal. I'm absolutely terrible at it."

"Don't worry;" said Kasumi, "there are enough chequered pasts on this ship to make up for that."

Kasumi tilted her head to look at him curiously, "Are you saying you haven't been planet-side once since arriving on Omega?"

Shinji's smile became wistful, "It's been a trillion cycles of time since I last looked up and saw a sky…"

Kasumi chuckled, "You look far too young to be sounding like such an old man, Shinji."

He glanced at her, smiling ironically, "Are you saying that I should stop living in the past so much?"

Shinji noticed her expression suddenly waver; the briefest of cracks in her composure lasting so briefly that he wondered if he'd seen it at all, "Not without sounding like a hypocrite, no…"

Shinji's brow furrowed, "I don't understand."

Kasumi's smile weakened, "Let's just say I'm the sort who has trouble moving on. And that's between you and me."

Shinji nodded. He then returned his gaze thoughtfully outside.

"Does that surprise you?"

"Does what surprise me?" he asked, glancing back at her.

"That someone like me would have trouble leaving things in the past."

Shinji just smiled, "Remind me to talk to you about my Dad sometime…"

Her smile widened once more, "Oh? Have the same flaw, did he?"

Shinji couldn't help it. He _laughed_. He laughed so hard it drew a tear, "_Oh_…" he wiped his eye with the back of one finger, "Let me ask you this, Kasumi: If you saw an opportunity to take back what you'd lost in the past, what extremes would you go to?"

"Quite extreme lengths. In a way I already have," she replied, seeming intrigued now.

"Would you go so far as to form a pact with an ancient society that secretly ran the whole world and then trigger an event which would wipe out billions of people and forcefully unify their souls as one gestalt entity inside a planet-sized teenage girl?"

Kasumi blinked; the first show of surprise Shinji had seen on her face.

She went quiet for a long moment, "I…think Keiji would get quite upset with me if I did that, so…_no, _though I thank you for putting my flaw in some perspective."

Shinji smiled, "No problem…"

Kasumi went quiet again for a brief spell, "Planet-sized…"

"-_Don't_," cut in Shinji with a raised hand, "_ask_…just…no."

-Ω-

Since the Thunder Child was too large to actually land on the planet surface, they had docked her at one of the orbital platforms and taken a shuttle down to the surface.

Thessian immigration at the surface port took far longer than the Citadel variant, but since the asari people had no real gripe with him, Shinji was not unduly held up. Kasumi had just strolled by the main desk as normal thanks to her stealth capabilities. Aria had no trouble walking through either, though Shinji suspected that was for less than scrupulous reasons.

EDEN had been the same, though considering the AI's electronic espionage capabilities, this wasn't too surprising.

Shinji rocked on his heels slightly, hands in his pockets as the asari working at the desk typed away at her console.

"Purpose of visit?"

Shinji blinked and stopped rocking, "Oh, no reason."

Her eyes flicked to him.

He sighed, "If I told you that I just wanted to set foot on solid ground for the first time in forever, would that do?"

She inclined her head, "So, pleasure then," to which Shinji just nodded.

"_So…_" said Shinji after a moment, "Do I…need to fill out a form or something?"

She looked away from her screen to regard him, "No, Consort Ikari. That's not necessary for visiting citizens, so long as you have nothing to declare."

"Well I…have nothing to declare?" he offered.

She smiled nervously, eyes flicking to where Aria stood waiting impatiently and back again, "I'll take your word for that, sir."

Shinji inclined his head. His brow then furrowed, "Wait, what was it you said before?"

"I said I'll take your-"

"-before that."

She looked at him in bewilderment, "I said visiting citizens don't require a temporary visa."

Shinji frowned. He knew residents of the Terminus systems weren't classed as being 'citizens' within their corner of space, mainly due to there being no real government, so he was confused as to why he was classed as being a citizen of anywhere, "I'm…a _citizen_?" he asked carefully.

The clerk's confusion rose slightly, looking at him with bewilderment that equalled his, "Yes, sir…" she pointed at her screen, "you have dual-"she then cut herself off, momentarily startled, "-sorry, no: _singular_ citizenship within the Republics." She looked at him questioningly for an instant; most likely curious as to why a human would hold Republic citizenship and not Alliance also. She obviously chose not to query it though and hit a control.

Shinji's Omnitool bleeped. The clerk then smiled politely, "And that's you cleared. Welcome to Thessia, sir, I hope you enjoy your stay. I recommend you stick to the visitor's menu."

Shinji bowed his head politely and walked past the desk, Aria falling into step by his side, "Is there a reason why I'm apparently a citizen of the Asari Republics?" he murmured.

"Because you needed a passport and the asari officials are easier for me to bribe."

"You know, I'm pretty sure I could've just filled out a form…"

Aria opened her mouth to say something, closed it again, and then looked away with a frown.

Shinji looked sidelong at her, "That…never even occurred to you, did it?"

Aria folded her arms, scowling, "Shut up. My way was easier."

"Didn't say it wasn't," replied Shinji just as the doors ahead opened. A wave of tropical heat and sea air struck him along with a blaze of natural light.

Shinji held up a hand to block out the glare of Thessia's sun.

"So," mused Shinji, moving his hand aside once his eyes had acclimatised, "first time on an alien planet…first time on a planet since leaving Earth period." He surveyed the area around the shuttle port. He then closed his eyes for a brief second to bask. The natural light felt good, even if it was the light of an alien sun.

The gleaming stout building that contained the shuttle port lead out onto a walkway interspaced with the occasional blue/green tree that ran parallel to a perfect white beach.

Shinji continued surveying their surroundings as they began walking, "They certainly picked a nice place to land their shuttles."

"We like to make a good first impression," remarked Tisala.

"It's working…" replied Shinji, looking out over the aquamarine waters, "your planet is…amazing."

Tisala smiled, "Well, we do like to try."

Shinji looked to the city across the bay. The tall silvery structures were indeed impressive and held an elegance that befitted the species that built them.

Some of the buildings had massive glowing orange lattices around the tops and sides where they seemed to still be in construction. Shinji actually suspected it was _reconstruction_ however, since he knew the devastation inflicted on Thessia by the Reapers had been particularly intense. Even though a few years had passed, it appeared some of the wounds had still yet to fully heal.

"Is it this hot all over the planet?" he asked, tugging on his collar slightly as he slipped off his coat and folded it over one arm.

Tisala nodded as Aria focused on sending out instructions on her Omnitool, "The climate is mostly tropical, but there are a few temperate zones. Nothing like back home though…"

"You mean Illium?" asked Shinji.

She nodded, "I used to live in one of the lower altitude areas further down the slopes, right on the edge of the habitable zone. Now those were some baking hot summers. Though to be fair, there really wasn't much of a difference all year round."

"Must've gotten sunburned a lot…"

"Not with my complexion," she replied, tapping the side of her dark blue cheek just next to the sky blue flecks of her facial art.

'_That and the Prothean genetic engineering,'_ added Shinji mentally as they approached a transit station, "I've never seen a winter myself. Only ever seen snow in pictures."

"But I thought Earth had well defined seasons," said Tisala with a confused frown.

"Not after Second Impact straightened the planetary axis and nearly destroyed the biosphere it didn't."

"Sounds horrible…"

"It happened before I was born. Half the population was wiped out in under a year. They say the tidal waves were over four hundred feet high when they first struck the cities…" said Shinji, his voice not sad but reflective, as if musing on the past.

"Shinji," said Aria as she finished placing the shuttle order, "change the subject. You're lowering the temperature of the entire planet, and I for one _like_ the nice weather."

"Sorry…"

"Well at least you pulled through…" said Tisala with forced brightness.

Shinji smiled, "If by pull through you mean destroyed ourselves. I had to become God for the day to fix that mess."

"_Shinji…_" warned Aria.

Tisala blinked, "God…?"

Shinji shrugged, "Like I told Kasumi: it's best you don't ask." he replied, promptly killing the subject, "Where…is she by the way?"

"Right here," came Kasumi's voice from somewhere off to Shinji's left. He felt her tap him on the shoulder.

-Ω-

They boarded the rented shuttle as soon as it was moved into position, Kasumi reappearing only after the doors were closed and Tisala had them safely airborne.

Shinji noted the bead of sweat running down one side of her face, "You really did come a bit overdressed."

Kasumi let out a contented sigh as the AC kicked in and let her hood fall back. She pulled out the tiny jade pin that held her hair back and let it cascade free about her shoulders as she wiped her forehead, "This is why I prefer to work indoors."

EDEN looked ready to object as Kasumi proceeded to use her upper arm as an impromptu pillow to rest her head against, "And now we wait…" murmured the thief happily.

"How long will it take to reach the landing zone?" asked Aria.

Tisala didn't look up from her console as she replied, "Including the time needed to detour to the safe-house and gear up, less than an hour.

"The compound is a three mile trek north through the jungle from the drop-off point. If we land any closer we're likely to be spotted. Once we arrive, we wait until nightfall."

"Then we have time…" muttered Aria, "I want to stop off somewhere on the way," she transmitted some coordinates to the navigational console for Tisala to follow, "It shouldn't take long."

The former spectre regarded the destination indicator. She made no comment and merely nodded her head in compliance, changing their course accordingly.

-Ω-

The Remembrance Gardens were one of the few places that had remained untouched during the war. Needless to say, they had been in heavy use in the immediate aftermath of the conflict. It was a well and sadly known fact that there remained a substantial backlog of asari still waiting to give their lost loved ones a worthy send-off, even though most of them never even had a body returned to actually bury.

Aria regarded Liselle's grave marker in silence.

She'd actually been standing there for over five minutes by that point. The corner where it was located was solitary and out of the way, peaceful and quiet. Aria probably would've called it picturesque if she actually stopped to consider such things.

She nudged the flowers she'd bought on the way in with her foot to a better position. The purchase had, to say the least, been a rare show of sentimentality on her part.

She felt foolish, but Aria supposed she should partake in the usual ritual for people in her situation.

Aria turned her head a few millimetres to steal a glance right, then to the left, confirming she was alone.

It was so quiet in the gardens that the sound of her fingertips tapping against her upper arm was quite audible.

"I'm getting bonded…" she finally said, her sense of foolishness rising, "Thought I'd let you know… not that you would've cared much either way. Never really were that close, were we? But I suppose that was my fault..."

She was silent again for a moment, "He's human, I think, but don't hold that against him." She cocked her head, "You'd have liked him, which probably goes to show just how much I've taken leave of my senses. He drives me mad more times than not, almost drove me to a nervous breakdown before we'd even met if more proof were needed." Aria then went quiet once more.

She took a breath, "Last time I was here it was to swear revenge. Though it turned out you were right about Grayson after all, how about that…"

Aria's fingertips slid from her arm and she felt her knuckles crack into a fist, "This time I'm not here to swear revenge. I'm here to swear that I will not make the same mistake again. I hid you; never let anyone know who you were. Even that fucker Kai Leng didn't know who you were when he got to you. But I'm not doing that any more. I'm making it loud and clear; I'm declaring it to the entire fucking galaxy: This is _mine_. And somebody's already dared to challenge that. And I'm going to hunt them for that, I'm _going_ to find them, and I swear to you, Liselle: I will kill them."

Aria uncrossed her arms and closed her eyes, inhaling a long, calming breath which she let out as a weary sigh, "And I'm talking to a stone…really must be losing it."

She glanced off to the side, irritation flashing over her features. She looked back at the grave marker, raising her voice pointedly, "Did I mention he's also an intrusive little bastard?"

There was a sheepish murmur of, "Sorry…" from somewhere behind her.

Aria's shoulders sagged and she sighed again, sidestepping once to the right and indicating the spot next to her with a weary wave of her hand.

Shinji appeared nervously at her side. He set down the small bunch of flowers he'd gotten, clapped his hands together in front of him in the traditional prayer position and bowed formally. He then stood back up, hands at his side, "Umm…Hello, Liselle. My name's Shinji. I'm your mom's…_friend_."

Shinji was painfully aware of Aria turning her head to look directly at him. He wasn't sure what look she had on her face, but he guessed it was one that said something along the lines of 'Please don't patronise my dead daughter'.

"Th-that is, I'm her-"

"-This is Shinji," cut in Aria, "He's the human I was talking about. He causes trouble a lot but he makes up for it by being good in bed."

"Aria!"

"You're right, that _was_ rude," said Aria, looking at him and then turning back to the grave, "he's fucking _great_ in bed," she briefly glanced at him again, "Better?"

Shinji had his mouth open to reply and then shook his head with a smile, deciding to just accept the compliment.

They both then stood for a while in comfortable silence. Aria tensed, but made no move to object when Shinji's hand came round her back to rest on her shoulder. It was rare for her to let herself simply be held, but she decided to allow it in this instance.

Aria broke the silence after a long period, "The others will be waiting…"

"Of course…"

Shinji detached his arm from her, turning one last time to address the grave, "For what it's worth," he said somewhat dryly, "I do think she's mellowed a little in the past few years. Now if you'll excuse us, we have to go break into a house so your mom can beat up an old man for information."

A smile pulled at Aria's lip as Shinji bowed one last time before they finally departed…

-Ω-

After dropping them off at the allotted place, Tisala had taken the shuttle to begin a continuous circle of the valley from above the cloud line, just in case they needed a swift evacuation.

Shinji had of course dispensed with anything brightly coloured for the duration of the operation in favour of some night gear, his jacket being replaced by a lightweight black hard suit to bolster his shielding. EDEN had also somehow altered the red and gold tones of her outfit to much more subdued blacks and midnight blues.

Aria on the other hand had actually taken some convincing to ditch her regular ensemble in favour of a set of jet black commando leathers with light armouring. She'd seemed sated however when Shinji had remarked that it made her appear 'kind of terrifying', and had instantly resolved to retain the outfit for future use.

They made their way silently through the jungle with Kasumi taking point, the thief somehow managing to walk through the thick brush without breaking so much as a single twig underfoot. She had chosen to remain visible for now and had requested they follow precisely along in her footsteps.

Suddenly, Kasumi came to a halt. They tensed, wondering what had caused her to stop, "You came this way before?" she asked.

"That's right," replied Aria, who was right behind her, with Shinji after and EDEN guarding their rear.

"Then he knew you were here…" and before Aria could query what she meant, Kasumi withdrew an innocuous silver sphere and tossed it into the air in front of her.

The device didn't fall, instead holding place and releasing sweeps of neon blue light in several directions.

Within the blue projected fields, as if they were windows to something unseen, orange sweeping beams were visible.

Aria moved to step forward and get a better look but Kasumi halted her with a raised hand, "A moment please…this I didn't expect." She then chuckled, "What _fun_…"

Shinji looked at the base of the orange beams. Attached to some of the trees were small devices which, when he looked outside of the blue light, appeared completely invisible.

"How did you even know they were there?" whispered Shinji.

She glanced back at him with a smile, "Telltale ionisation in the air. You've just got to have a nose for these things."

Still looking at him, Kasumi angled herself about and dashed forwards. She sprung to the right and coiled herself up and about the trunk of the nearest tree with a device attached. Once she was six feet off the ground, she locked her thighs into place and leaned about. She didn't even need to look at the scanner as she manipulated it with practiced fingers.

The thief gripped the tree with her hands and pressed her feet flat against the bark. She then sprang the distance to the next tree, twirling about it's trunk with her thighs, adjusted the device attached and then propelled herself across to the next.

All they could do was stand and watch as Kasumi leaped from tree to tree, never stopping nor touching the ground until she'd moved every single scanning device in one continuous, unending movement.

All the devices remained intact but there was now a clear corridor through the trees to their destination.

Shinji gulped, "_Nimble_…isn't she?"

They followed through the trees for a while to find Kasumi slouched sideways on an overhanging branch with her hand dangling idly below in a posture that Shinji found startlingly reminiscent of the Cheshire Cat.

"I've cleared the rest of the alarm sensors up ahead along with a few unexpected surprises. Nothing serious, just a few incendiary mines and retractable turrets. They looked recently installed. Seems your friend has been upgrading his security since you were last here, Aria." Her smile widened, "This just got much more fun." The thief then flopped to the side and dropped gracefully to the ground, "We're clear up to the edge of the valley."

-Ω-

They laid flat on their chests, looking out over the crest of the valley. The Scolex compound was below. A stubby, blue-grey collection of structures it was surrounded by high walls and a number of guard towers.

Shinji looked up. He briefly caught sight of a displacing swirl of cloud, the only sign the black shuttlecraft was concealed up there, circling and ready to swoop down at a moment's notice.

Shinji then looked down once more and noticed something odd about Kasumi.

Her chin was resting in her palm and there was a tiny frown etched into her features as she looked down over the structures. It was the first time he'd seen her even mildly perturbed since they'd met.

"What is it?" he whispered.

"Something's not right…" She said, handing her binoculars sideways to Aria.

Shinji considered someone like her admitting that to be a very bad sign.

"What do you mean?" asked Aria.

"This man you described," began Kasumi, "Elderly, wealthy, bitter?"

"That's how I'd describe him," she replied.

"And he's set himself up on Thessia, a planet populated entirely by women."

"So he's a dirty old man," commented EDEN, "What of it?"

"All this, so concealed and out of the way," she replied, nodding down at the compound, "He's showing off, but only to himself and those he deems worthy of it."

"So, an egotist," replied Shinji. With that in mind, he surveyed the compound again, "Ah, I see…"

"Shinji?" enquired EDEN.

"The towers are all unmanned," he said, nodding down, "And there's nobody visibly patrolling outside the walls. When you put in this much effort to show off, you usually keep people around to actually show off to."

"Put simply," said Kasumi, "It's quiet, a little _too quiet_…though I had dearly hoped to avoid the cliché." She shook her head, "No, something about this is all wrong."

Shinji's eyes traced the facility below. It was dark and as silent as the night. He'd been expecting sweeping searchlights, commandos patrolling the grounds. But looking at this place, you'd think it was deserted.

"Are the security systems all active?" he asked.

"Take a look," replied Aria, handing the binoculars to him.

Shinji looked through them. The modified display within showed a detailed scanning overlay of everything below. Like the device Kasumi had used earlier, the display showed the direction of the scanning beams and camera viewpoints.

An intricate lattice of beams blanketed the gap between them and the walls like a sea of searchlights. Indicators pointed to various seemingly innocent metal apertures and sections of earth with details of the turrets and defence systems that lay concealed within. "What are the blue blotches on the display?" he asked.

"Cryo mines," replied Kasumi, "take your leg clean off, but at least you have until the ice melts to get help before you start bleeding out. And some of the turrets have rather intense polonium signatures; very nasty. It is interesting though…"

"What is?" asked Shinji.

"There's a distinct difference in styles here," said Kasumi thoughtfully, "The sensors I moved earlier and everything down below have been done with a certain level of grace and finesse, however the recent additions near the edge of the jungle were…_crude_, barely concealed and with little attempt to lay out a defensive pattern. Almost as if it were a token gesture in response to Aria's presence set up by a rank amateur."

"What might that mean?" asked Shinji.

Kasumi was quiet for a moment in contemplation, "Possibly nothing…possibly everything. It's difficult to tell at this stage"

Shinji set the binoculars down in front of him, "but why aren't the towers manned? The automated systems might be on but as it stands we could just take our time working our way through until we reach the walls." He looked sidelong at the asari, "Aria?"

She narrowed her gaze at the deadly obstacle course waiting below, "The invitation's been extended. Let's not be rude. But either way…" she trailed off.

"Watch our backsides?" offered EDEN.

"Words to that effect," she replied, pushing herself up into a crouch. She looked down at the thief and inclined her head, "Lead the way."

"With pleasure," she responded, her voice back with its usual edge, but Shinji couldn't help but feel a sense of deep foreboding now loomed over them.

It could've just been him, but for some reason Shinji couldn't help but feel as if there were something out there almost willing him to turn back. He quickly shook off the sensation and followed on after Aria.

-Ω-

Kasumi prowled her way toward the edge of the traps. The others stopped when her body rippled and vanished. Shinji brought up the binoculars and, indeed, Kasumi could be seen through them as a glowing blue spectre drifting between sensor posts and either hacking or disabling them.

She reappeared not far off, crouched in some long grass. They approached her slowly, staying low all the way to find the thief in the process of disabling a formerly invisible mine embedded in the earth.

"_Nice,_" breathed Kasumi as she opened the silvery disk's casing and slid free a small cylindrical component, which she then quickly stowed off somewhere on her person.

"What are you doing?" whispered Shinji.

"Miniaturised stealth generator," replied Kasumi, patting her pocket before creeping onwards, "Quite extravagant in security terms, especially for something designed to blow up."

They all tried to hide their exasperation as Kasumi made a beeline for the lowest section of the outer wall, disabling and pilfering seemingly at random. Some of the components, which ranged from sensors to power cells, hadn't been exactly portable, so Shinji had no idea where she was storing them. He wondered this right up until he reached into a pocket to confirm the presence of a thermal clip only to pull free an incendiary mine warhead, "Are you using me to carry your stuff?" he whispered irritably.

"Sorry," she replied, not whispering but somehow keeping her voice even quieter than his, "but Aria had no room left and EDEN has no pockets."

Shinji watched Aria glance into one of the pouches around her waist and then roll her eyes. Shinji could tell the pirate was resisting an extremely powerful urge to raise her voice.

Suddenly, Shinji brought a hand to his head and clenched his eyes closed, "What is it?" whispered Aria.

"N-nothing…" he replied. His brow then twitched, "Did you hear that?"

EDEN looked about, "No noise was made, Shinji-kun."

"I thought I heard something. Like…_voices_." He shook his head again, "It's probably nothing," he said dismissively, trying to ignore the bizarrely strong urge to head back the way he'd come.

"Let's go take a look inside, shall we?" said Kasumi, who reengaged her stealth system just as she turned and loped toward the side of the wall, which at that point was a mere twelve feet high.

Shinji, Aria and EDEN were pressed flat against the cold metal surface when Kasumi reappeared atop the structure, sitting clear in the open, "What are you _doing_?" hissed Shinji.

"I've already checked. Its fine," said Kasumi distantly, as if she were dwelling on something that had confused her, "Perhaps you should come up and see for yourself."

With that, Kasumi braced the backs of her legs atop the wall and leaned all the way back until she was upside down, extending both hands down toward Shinji.

He spared a questioning glance at Aria, who nodded at him to continue.

Taking a few steps back for a run up, he then dashed forwards, jumping up and then propelling himself off the base of the indented section half-way up. He pushed once against the wall and barely caught hold of Kasumi's hands. He pressed his feet in to push up as Kasumi sat back up and drew him atop the wall.

He scrambled round and into a sitting position, gasping slightly as he smiled weakly at her, "That can't have been good for your back."

She smiled, rolling her shoulders with a slight cracking sound, "It really wasn't. Good thing you owe me a massage when this is done."

Shinji sighed, "At least that'll be one favour done with…" he murmured, turning back to lend Aria a hand who, thanks to some minor biotic assistance, required little additional help to scale the rampart.

EDEN's appeared next, the android requiring no assistance to reach the top thanks to her enhanced strength.

"I don't get it…" said Shinji as he surveyed the structures below.

The centre of the complex was dominated by a large, grey building of strange construction.

A landing pad occupied one corner of the facility and numerous smaller storage buildings and construction facilities were dotted about, including one rather large building just adjoining the main gate, possibly a gatehouse or barracks Shinji assumed. Guard towers occupied the other corners, high-calibre cannons visible within.

The primary building that was their objective almost resembled a large metallic castle in design. Its high windows were blacked out and foreboding.

The thing that Shinji found odd was what _wasn't_ there: people. Even beyond the walls there wasn't so much as a single guard patrolling. Neither were there any staff members or any other sign of life. The only noises in the humid, jungle night air were the gentle chirps and squeaks of the alien wildlife going about its business.

"Is it completely deserted?" asked Aria.

EDEN's eyes swept the base, "I can't confirm any life signs within the main structure, but the guard towers and other structures are unoccupied. However both the facility's main element zero core and the two backup fusion reactors are still fully active."

"You're sure we can't be seen here?" asked Aria, looking to Kasumi.

She nodded, "Thanks to the towers being empty, this entire sector is serving as one large blind spot."

Without another word, Kasumi slid down the wall and onto the small group of containers directly below. EDEN dropped down next with Shinji and Aria following after.

Shinji took a single step and staggered. His hand went to his forehead as a wave of dizziness assaulted him. He felt a pair of hands grab his shoulders from behind.

"Okay," said Aria as she stopped him toppling face-first off the containers, "this is the part where you tell me exactly what's going on."

Shinji shook his head again, blinking his eyes to focus them as Aria leaned into his field of vision, "I...I'm not sure…" he stammered, clenching his eyes closed again as the ringing he could hear in the background faded, "Something…_something's_ here. It's something…that _really_ does not want me to be here."

"Are you okay?" she asked, her tone quietening slightly.

Shinji smiled weakly as he wiped his brow, "Why, are you worried about me?"

"Yes," she replied bluntly.

Shinji's smile widened a fraction, "Come on now, it's no fun if you don't at least pretend otherwise. Don't worry, I'll be fine. It's fading again."

Aria regarded him cautiously and stayed by EDEN's side as he hopped down and walked after Kasumi, "Do you detect anything?"

"No noises. However there is a very faint electrical field resonating in the immediate area. I don't recognise the composition. It's getting stronger the closer we get to the main building."

"Could it be causing this?"

EDEN shook her head, "I don't know. Either way, we'd best get this done quickly. You will recall I _objected_ to bringing him along."

Aria deigned not to entertain the argument and merely followed on after the others.

They followed after Kasumi as she zipped between buildings, occasionally leaping over something unseen and sometimes even pausing to sniff the air or press an ear against a wall. Shinji wasn't sure what she was doing, but decided it was best not to question a professional whist they were doing their job.

Shinji was more concerned with the ringing and background whispering that he could still hear. The noises were getting louder and more insistent. It was quickly becoming a battle merely to put one foot in front of the other.

Suddenly, there were new noises: the unsettled, angering murmurs of voices in the back of his mind. Shinji realised with a mild start that they were the same voices from when he'd encountered that strange entity in the Galactic Core.

Shinji closed his eyes for a second and focused on those bizarrely familiar voices. He let them come together to drown out the ringing and whispering.

He let out a relieved breath as his mind instantly cleared and all went quiet once more.

EDEN stopped dead, her head twitching.

**SCREEN CRAWL: **WARNING** LOW-LEVEL PHASE VARIANCE DETECTED IN CLOSE PROXIMITY. INITIATE EMERGENCY PATTERN ANALYSIS.**

**Processing…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: RESULTS: INCONCLUSIVE**

**ATTEMPTING TO CONFIRM PRESENCE OF A.T. FIELD**

**Processing…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: RESULTS: INCONCLUSIVE.**

Aria glanced back at EDEN, "What now?"

EDEN shook her head, "Nothing. I was just…monitoring something elsewhere. Needed a bit of additional processing power."

"Well if you'd kindly keep your metal mind focused on the task at hand I would be ever so grateful," replied Aria, shaking her head as she carried on to where Shinji and Kasumi waited, pressed up against the main structure.

"Anybody else worry that they're all just waiting inside ready to jump us?" whispered Shinji.

"Finding out is all part of the fun," replied Kasumi with a mischievous inflection.

Shinji rolled his eyes, "Well how do we get inside?" he asked, "Can you hack the door?"

Kasumi inclined her head, "Whilst walking in the front door like I own the place is my favourite way of operating, there are times when one should resort to more classical means…"

"Such as…?" asked Aria impatiently.

Kasumi pointed straight up and then flicked open a tiny grappling hook that seemed to have appeared from out of nowhere in her palm. She then began unfurling a black line from somewhere up her sleeve. She glanced at Aria with a tiny smile, "Come now, you expect me to believe this is your first rodeo?" She backed up and began spinning the hook around, building up speed, "To think I'm actually getting _paid_ for this…" she remarked gleefully as she released the hook straight up.

The line soared silently over the rim of the building and the hook landed without a clatter somewhere out of sight. Kasumi then drew the line back until it went taut.

The thief leaned back, testing the line and bracing a foot against the wall, "Now you just all sit tight…" she said, gripping the rope tightly, "while I go get the door for you…" She then began hoisting herself effortlessly up the steel wall and in seconds she had disappeared over the top.

Aria stood looking up with her arms folded, "I'm not sure what's worse: That it turned out we did need her…"

"Or that you're starting to like her?" offered Shinji with a slight smirk.

"Depressing, isn't it…"

-Ω-

Kasumi was smiling happily as she moved silently across the rooftop, her stealth system coming back online. She approached a tinted black dome in the centre of the roof and pressed her hands lightly against it, "And the skylight above the bedroom," she remarked with amusement, "Aren't_ we_ going with the classics tonight…"

The electrodes in the fingertips of her gloves adapted to the signature of the alarm sensors built into the glass and then sent out a quick surge to disable them.

A tool the size of a small pencil with a sharpened tip appeared in the thief's hand. She used it to puncture a microscopic hole in the surface and inject a tiny adjustable camera through the gap.

Kasumi looked down the base of the tool at the visual information being fed back, her thumb adjusting a control to move the camera in a quick, sweeping circle of the room below.

Once she was satisfied the coast was clear, she exchanged the tool for another similar-shaped black device. She clicked the side and a tiny glowing Omni-Blade fizzled to life at the tip.

Using the microfilaments in her glove to grip hold of the glass, Kasumi cut out a sizable portion barely big enough for her to fit through and then set it aside.

Slipping through the gap with a squeeze that would make a mouse blush, Kasumi emerged into the structure. She dangled from the gap by a single hand as her Omnitool did a quick sweep for pressure sensors. And, once satisfied it was safe, she dropped down with perfect silence onto the carpeted floor.

The bedroom was oddly lavish, and had been decked out in a very old fashioned Earth-style, complete with four-poster bed and thick rugs.

Kasumi found herself sitting momentarily down on the edge of the unoccupied bed, a single finger tapping off her chin in thought.

It was all going far too easy. If this wasn't some kind of trap she'd eat her own graybox.

Speaking of which…

Kasumi pressed a control on her Omnitool, "Captain?" she whispered.

"What is it?" came the hushed reply a second later.

"There's something I forgot to enquire about, something of critical importance."

"What is it?" he whispered urgently.

"Do you know how to make ramen?"

There was a long and disbelieving silence, "I do…" came the careful reply, "_why…_?"

"No reason," she chimed, cutting him off with a grin.

A pirate ship giving her the freedom to do whatever she wants and a Captain who can cook?

She really had made a quite superb choice.

Kasumi listened to the door for sounds of movement on the other side. Once satisfied, she disabled the mechanism and slid it manually open to prevent noise.

She slipped out into the darkened hallway, thankful for the carpeted floors which cushioned her already silent steps to sheer nothingness.

The man obviously had an obsession with showing off his wealth, which was something Kasumi could always appreciate. Antique wooden furniture was dotted about the corridor and in the adjoining rooms with equally valuable curios on display. The thief helped herself to the occasional small vase or ornament. She turned her nose up at most of the art which, as it normally was with people like him, consisted primarily of self-portraits.

Kasumi glanced between the scowling images of the balding, red-faced human with an obvious skin condition as they glared at her in silence. It was almost as if they were aware of what she was doing. In retaliation, she pilfered a small gilded picture frame containing an image of the man from a sideboard. It was more of a trophy than anything else.

Peeking into another room, which turned out to be mostly for storage and lacked the classic façade of the rest of the building, Kasumi swiped up a shoulder bag emblazoned with the Solaris Weapons & Armouring Group logo, which she promptly used to store her treasures before carrying on, loading up on various antiques and components before reaching the stairwell, ignoring the various other rooms leading off from the main pathway for now.

Kasumi paused as she descended toward the ground floor and looked around. There were no internal surveillance cameras, nor active alarms. There were no people here either. Every light so far had been off. The only sign of illumination was from down below…

A single room appeared to be in use.

Kasumi drew her sidearm and began going down, step by step, drawn towards the light.

Despite being shrouded, Kasumi peered carefully into the open doorway, which turned out to be another classically decked out room. In this case it was a drawing room, complete with red high-backed chair, bookcase and fireplace topped with dominating portrait.

A sideboard stood off to one side, a closed metal box sat atop it.

The red velvet seat was positioned by the lit fireplace with its back to the door. Kasumi's eyes were drawn to the hand that was visible resting atop the chair's arm. An open drinks globe stood off to the side and a glass of brandy sat on a side table by the chair's left arm, The ice cubes within glistening in the firelight.

Recently poured, thought the thief, noting the still frozen ice. A quick scan with her Omnitool confirmed the presence of no weapons in the room.

Kasumi pulled back from the door and began a quick sweep through the other rooms. Her rising concern over the situation had her ignoring the treasures on offer for now as she checked for other occupants.

Not a soul. Not so much as a guard dog, butler or bodyguard. Kasumi even went so far as to scan for deactivated geth signatures on the off chance he might have some reprogrammed platforms stashed away ready to ambush them.

Nothing.

Something was very wrong.

Kasumi frowned and edged toward the main doorway, overriding it as silently as she could, again opening it manually to avoid detection from the still man in the chair less than ten metres away.

-Ω-

The door slid open next to them and Kasumi appeared on the threshold, one finger pressed to her lips. Aria nodded and Kasumi beckoned them inside with an inclination of her head.

Aria entered behind the thief who nodded through the open doorway at the seat with its back to them.

Shinji and EDEN followed, only for Aria to press a hand to his chest and halt him. She looked to EDEN, who nodded in understanding and rested a hand on the young man's shoulder, indicating him to wait with her.

Shinji understood. Despite what he'd said about acceptance, Aria would still rather not test it unless necessary. He nodded and leaned against the doorframe, ready to go for a pointed walk if Aria got a little too excitable.

"Nobody else," mouthed Kasumi, "Just him."

Aria nodded and circled slowly about her and into the room, eyes locked on the single visible hand.

The limb moved. The first sign of actual life since they'd arrived.

Aria stood, not going for her own weapon yet and merely looked down at the wrinkled hand as it shifted.

The extremity moved lazily to the glass and picked it up. The tumbler vanished round the front of the chair briefly. There was a gentle clinking of ice on glass and a slight inhalation of breath before it reappeared again and was set down, slightly drained of its contents.

"Hello, Aria…" came the calm, weary voice, "You're late. It's rude to keep the elderly waiting up so long."

Aria continued further into the room until the elderly CEO came into view.

Garret's portraits were actually quite complimentary in comparison to the real deal. The flaking, almost completely bald old man with rheumatic eyes was sat proudly, if tiredly up in his chair, clad in almost classical-style nightwear. She noted that almost everything about the man seemed to reek of time past. The only out of place item was the Omnitool sat haphazardly in his lap, and there was also something about his borderline vacant stare that disturbed Aria somewhat.

"I wasn't aware I was expected…"

The ghost of a smile pulled at his wrinkled mouth, "Of course you were. It was only a matter of time."

"Then you know why I'm here."

Mala nodded, reaching for his glass once more and taking a drink, inhaling a gasp again as the spirit irritated his old throat, "I do," he croaked, setting it down again, "Would you care for a drink?" he asked, extending a slightly shaking hand towards the open globe, "We may as well be civil while we can."

Aria regarded him warily and inclined her head, swiping up the brandy and pouring herself a quick glass. She leaned an elbow up against the mantelpiece and took a drink, cocking her head acceptingly as she regarded the amber liquid, "Not bad…"

"Hennessy Paradis," mused the old man, "aged almost as much as me," he paused to cough, "If one is to choose a final beverage, it should be with some class, don't you think?"

She set the drink down. This really wasn't going how she'd expected, "You think I'm here to kill you?"

Garret shook his head slowly, "No, Aria. You're impulsive, but not stupid."

"I wish I could say the same for you…" her brow tightened into a scowl, "Now talk."

"It was just business…" he lamented with a tiny, regretful shake of his head, "She just wanted to talk…" his eyes were drawn dreamily to the box across the room and back, "Just a deal…"

"And who is _she_?"

His mouth opened and closed silently, as if trying to say something but failing to find the strength. Finally he found his voice, "I am sorry, Aria…" he said, his tone breaking slightly as his hands moved independently toward the Omnitool in his lap, pressing a few controls.

"You're _sorry?_" she snapped.

"Honore inter fures…" he lamented in response, "That's how we've always worked, isn't it?"

"Honour among thieves…" responded Aria. Her eyes flicked down as she watched him press a final, flashing red control on his Omnitool.

"An expression we both failed to uphold it would seem…"

"And you thought that, rather than complaining to me directly, it was wiser to _conspire_ against me?"

"Wasn't how it began…" he murmured dreamily, "was just an offer…just wanted to talk…"

"_Who_?" she demanded, "Give me a name!"

Again, it looked like he was struggling against something, speaking in slow, broken phrases, "So sorry. Really was…just business. She even took the others, but by then they left willingly…thanks to the voices…left me all alone to my task…"

That was when, out of curiosity over the lack of audible violence, Shinji slowly entered the room and into the man's field of vision.

Suddenly, Garret's expression broke, a look of panic flashing through his eyes, "N-_nooo_…" he moaned, "Sh-shouldn't be here…" he stammered, "They tried to force you away… you vanished…supposed to have ran away…"

Shinji glanced between Aria and the old man in bewilderment, "How? Howwww?" he moaned again.

EDEN and Kasumi drifted in after them. The thief leaned in to examine the wide-eyed man as he trembled. She held his chin still as she stared into his vacant eyes, "I've seen this before…"

EDEN's head suddenly snapped up as an alert shot through her systems. A slight whining began to build from all around.

Shinji found himself drifting around, drawn inexorably toward the closed metal box on the table, his hand moving toward the catch on the lid as if in a trance.

Her patience at their limit, Aria stepped forward, shoving Kasumi aside and drawing a fist back to try a more direct form of persuasion and to snap the man out of his trance the old fashioned way.

"Wait!" said Kasumi, raising a hand up to stop her, "There's no point. You're not getting anything out of him."

Aria's knuckles cracked as her fist tightened and she glared at the thief, "You never know until you try."

"You don't understand: He's been indoctrinated!"

Aria drew her hand back in surprise, "_What?_"

A clipping sound emanated from behind them, and they turned around just in time to see Shinji flip the box open.

A metal sphere was revealed within and Shinji's eyes widened in shock. He doubled over, clasping his head as something assaulted him with far more force than before now that the interference offered by the artefact's case had been removed.

"Shinji!" came the asari's voice, and he was dimly aware of her being at his side. EDEN forced herself to ignore him as a more important problem held her attention.

"We have to leave, now!" snapped EDEN.

"What's wrong with him?" demanded Aria as Shinji snarled, thrashing as if fighting off something invisible.

"Irrelevant!" responded EDEN, "The coolant systems on the two fusion reactors under this facility have been disabled and the containment field on the main mass effect core has also been destabilised.

"The reactions are already out of control and there's nothing I can do to stop it! We've got seconds until the fusion reactors lose containment and less than a minute before the core under this building reaches critical mass!"

Aria's head snapped back to where the CEO sat staring vacantly ahead.

It was a trap, one laid personally for her.

She stood up, trying to drag Shinji to his feet, "Where's Tisala?" she demanded, throwing his arms over her shoulders.

"I've already sent the call. She's on her way!"

Suddenly, an explosion rocked the facility as the reactor at the far end of the base cracked open. Debris was hurled for miles in all directions, tearing through the various structures and setting them ablaze as the main building was shaken on its foundations.

Before they could reach the door, the fusion reactor closest to them then erupted with a blinding flash.

The entire side of the reactor housing stabbed into the side of the building like a dagger, cleaving the room clean in half with an ear-splitting crash.

The blade of metal slammed into the wall, missing Aria by inches and severing EDEN's left arm clean at the elbow along with the front section of her foot. Her briefly pained shriek was drowned out by the noise before her internal nervous responses were cut off from the damaged extremities.

Aria staggered back, momentarily dazed. She then grabbed hold of the human and picked him up as her body glowed with dark energy.

"Leave!" roared Aria through the gap in the debris, "I'll get Shinji out this side!" without looking, the asari swung her arm to the left, releasing a flare from within her barrier and blasting apart the concealed window.

Kasumi bolted from the room, stopping only to snatch up the old man's Omnitool as EDEN followed in hot pursuit, seemingly unhindered by the damage.

They erupted free into the open as the sleek form of the shuttle screamed to a halt outside the structure, its pair of swept-back, bladelike wings displacing the air as it became still.

The ship came about, thrusters aiming upwards as the rear hatch dropped open. The ground heaved and the air was filled with the deafening noise of secondary explosions as various ordinance boxes and fuel crates ignited.

The craft rocked as a crumpled storage unit crashed down into the forward section. Flames wafted out of the gaping hole in the ground further down the compound and bathed the shuttle's shielding as the pair jumped on board.

Aria had Shinji tossed over one shoulder as she skidded about the crate that had missed crushing her by a few feet. Her barrier was one of the only things protecting them from the searing heat emanated by the nearby exposed reactor and the pounding of molten debris.

The shuttle twirled to a halt before her less than fifteen feet away, rear hatch open and facing her.

Aria made to run for the ship, only for a section of reactor casing to crash into the ground between them, hurling Aria one way and Shinji the other.

The impact jarred Shinji back to his senses slightly as he fought to control the order of the voices warring against the outside influence.

Over the noise in his head and his shell-shocked perspective, Shinji was only numbly aware of Aria reaching her hand for his and dragging him up into a stumbling run.

Suddenly, there was a bright flash and a warmth on his back. Shinji looked back just as the entire structure of the main building bulged outwards.

'_Too late…'_

He felt his hand squeeze tightly onto Aria's, just as the structure behind cracked open.

Then there was silence…

And all was still…

'Come now, Shinji-kun, you should know as well as I that it's never too late…'

Shinji opened his tightly scrunched eyes in confusion.

Kaworu Nagisa smiled back at him from a few feet away, the world frozen in silence around them, 'I think you've come a little too far to lose faith now…'

Shinji's mouth felt dry, "Kaworu…kun?"

The silver-haired boy cocked his head to the side, smiling as always. The Angel briefly glanced over his shoulder at the bulging walls, as if mildly intrigued by the explosion frozen in time. He looked back to Shinji once more, 'You look a little surprised.'

Shinji considered commenting on the obviousness of that statement, but decided against it, "B-but how are you here?"

Kaworu blinked as if confused, 'Why, I'm always here, Shinji-kun,' he said with his usual tenderness, his hand reaching out to gently cup the Third Child's left wrist. Even if it was just some kind of dream, the Angel of Free Will felt as warm as ever.

Shinji frowned suspiciously, "Are you and Ayanami in league with the blue space ghost? Have you formed some kind of club?"

Kaworu regarded him blankly, as if genuinely not sure how to respond to that, 'I'm going to say…no.'

"Okay…" responded Shinji, "Well, it was nice seeing you again, but if you'll excuse me, my friends and I need to go get reduced to radioactive vapour right now!" he finished, actually sounding annoyed more than anything else.

Kaworu chuckled, 'Would you like some help with that?'

A flash of surprise, followed by fear came over Shinji's face, but he tossed it aside and took a steadying breath, "What do I need to do?"

Kaworu looked at him inquisitively, 'You're worried. You think accepting my help will end your life.'

"If it'll save everyone else, then I really don't care."

Kaworu's smile widened, 'Brave as ever, though you always deny it...

'But don't worry: Lilith's light was indeed dangerous alone, but it will be us together, you and I blended as one. You have already taken the first steps and were handling yourself admirably against the darkness trying to impose itself on you. I had not expected that. It would appear something has already given you a push in the right direction, but I think you may need some extra assistance in this instance...'

"The darkness…" said Shinji, "what was it, Kaworu, do you know?"

The Angel frowned, looking away at something unseen, 'Something dangerous awaits you in the near future, Shinji-kun. You must trust in yourself and in those around you, only then will you prevail.'

"But I don't know what to do!"

Kaworu's smile returned and he gently cupped Shinji's hand, 'I will be with you, Shinji-kun. Now use the light within, and I will lend you mine. Sing with me now, together as one…'

Shinji closed his eyes, remembering what the blue entity had said. He weaved the voices of those within, bringing them into chorus, just as things began moving again.

As things began to speed up, Shinji felt Kaworu's hand on his shoulder, his voice by his side, 'Together now, Shinji-kun. And don't worry, we will meet again one more time, one last time, and the truth will be revealed. _Until then…_'

Time then restarted, and death was once more waiting for him.

Shinji was only partially aware of his hand slipping free of Aria's, his fists clenching, teeth baring, as if _daring_ the blue flash of the Mass Effect eruption to hit him head on.

The shockwave hit first, pushing the Third Child back a step. His snarl became a roar as he thrust both hands forwards, containing the explosion for an instant before the trailing edge of the blue/white flash struck.

There was a deafening blast of sound as the A.T. field and the explosion clashed, Shinji growling continuously as a dim halo began to shimmer into existence above his head.

The blistering heat of the blast began to sear Shinji's skin even through the field, but he felt it dampen as a biotic barrier folded itself over him like a cool blanket. He was only slightly aware of Aria's hand on his shoulder trying to drag him back, but he was still, unmoving; the focal point of an isolated pocket of space-time. He felt her fingers dig in.

"Get _back!_" he found himself snarling through his teeth and Aria froze as he glared back at her with shimmering crimson eyes, "Into the shuttle, now!" he snapped, just as the eezo reactant chambers became fully exposed and the full force of the eruption slammed into his A.T. field, staggering him as the barrier fought against the constantly shifting storm of mass displacing energy.

Shinji let himself be pushed back by the blast toward the shuttle. The instant he took a step under his own power he felt Aria drag him by his shoulders aboard, the A.T. field expanding out to encompass the small ship as the explosions danced around them.

"I'm not doing this for my health, you know!" snapped Shinji, realising they weren't moving yet, "Okay, _technically_-"

"-Fly!" shouted Aria, cutting him off.

The engines screamed and the ship was tossed about wildly as it took to the air through the blast that seemed desperate to consume them.

Aria looked out the still open rear hatch. They were caught in the heart of a storm of blue flame, held back by nothing more than a thin film of orange light as Shinji stood with his arms outstretched sideways. Above the explosions, there was a loud ringing in the air, as if a chorus were singing one drawn out, harmonic note. It was a sound that seemed to be resonating from the halo that now pulsed brightly above Shinji's head.

The aperture was then closed and Shinji staggered as his field dropped, letting the trailing edge of the blast carry the ship free and into the night sky, the concentric octagonal lights flickering about the vessel shimmered away into nothing.

Shinji dropped to his knees, gasping for air. The ethereal glow coming from his skin illuminated the interior of the shuttle for a moment before slowly fading away. The harmonic sound in the air vanished as the halo above his head closed in upon itself and disappeared with a flicker.

Silence descended within the dimly lit cockpit.

Aria dropped by him, cupping his cheek gently in her palm and tilting his head to look at her. A cold film of sweat covered his skin as his eyes returned to normal, "Shinji…?"

He blinked and his eyes cleared slightly, "Still alive…" he managed to say, smiling weakly and reaching a shaking hand up to briefly touch hers.

"Are you…"

"I'll be fine," he said with a slightly choked voice, "Please…help me up, Aria."

Aria wasn't sure if it was even okay for him to _move_, but did as he asked and hooked an arm under his to help him stand.

He staggered back and braced a hand against the bulkhead to keep himself upright, "Okay…I'm…_okay_…" He said as Aria took a step toward him, smiling as reassuringly as possible as the other occupants regarded him in worried disbelief.

Shinji took a clear, steady breath and managed another smile, "Remind me never to do that again..."

He inhaled once more through his nose and stepped forward, his pace becoming more and more even as he crossed the length of the cockpit and stopped by Tisala's chair, resting a hand against the back of it for support. He looked out over the jungle at where the flames still rose, a swirl of blue light still visible from the exposed reactor core.

Shinji realised that the primary reactor must have had some serious power, as there was little left of the compound now other than a large, blazing crater, "Tisala, please get us out of here before Thessia becomes another place I can't visit," he said, patting her once on the shoulder.

"R-right," she replied, going back to her job and getting them as far away from the blast zone as possible before the authorities arrived.

He turned about. Aria was still regarding him silently. He stopped before her and wiped his brow on the back of his sleeve, "You look concerned," he said, still smiling weakly, "Now I know it's bad."

"Are you really okay?" she asked, trying her best to sound impassive, "You said if that ever happened again…"

Shinji shook his head, "It was different this time. This time it was at least…partly me, so it wasn't so bad. It was only for a moment too. I'll be fine, Aria." He said, smiling as serenely as possible and he watched as the tension in her shoulders evaporated; relieved, though he knew she wouldn't allow herself to properly show it, "Thanks for dragging me out of there by the way…"

"You think I'm letting you die _before_ we get bonded? I'm not letting you off that easily…"

Shinji's smile widened and watched as she walked to one of the other chairs and sat down. He followed and dropped down into the seat next to her. She didn't complain when he let his head loll against her shoulder to drift immediately away to sleep.

Aria put an arm around Shinji to pull him into a more restful position against her. She then turned her eyes to EDEN. The platform's severed arm and toes already had an orange field extending from the torn sections as her internal production plant began working to reconstruct the missing components, "Will he really be alright?" asked Aria.

She nodded, "His vitals are stable. He will be fine," she was then silent for a moment before speaking again, "He would've died down there without you…thank you, Aria T'Loak."

Aria looked away, smiling grimly, "And we all would've died without him…"

She then glanced back out the porthole at the rising smoke in the distance, "And there goes the king of smugglers…" she mused. Her gaze then narrowed as her thoughts changed paths, remembering the state the elderly CEO had been in, "_Indoctrination_…that has put a nasty spin on this whole situation…and still we came away with nothing."

Kasumi ruffled inside her SWAG bag and pulled free the Omnitool. "There is this, "she said, and tossed the device to Aria, who caught it deftly in her free hand.

Kasumi had of course seen that barrier pattern before in the vid-file of C-Sec's encounter with Shinji on the Presidium, but she would of course be demanding a full explanation at the next opportune moment.

Aria regarded the device in silence. Along with the ones she had retrieved from the gang members and assassins, Aria felt that she might now have the keys to tracking down whoever might be behind all this. The only other clue she had was that her opponent was a _she _and_, _being an asari, that really didn't narrow Aria's list of enemies down all too much.

It wasn't much to go on, but Aria had come out of far worse situations in the past using far less.

Aria gripped the Omnitool tightly. It was time for the Pirate Queen to stop all this scurrying about for clues, and time for her to start _retaliating_…

Kasumi ruffled in her bag and pulled out the picture frame, holding it up to examine it with a small smile.

"And why did you bring that?" asked Aria.

Kasumi smiled, "Just looking for the good in a bad situation. This used to be a trophy," she said, glancing out of the window and back, "now it's a _collector's item._"

EDEN had returned her attention to Shinji however and was taking the opportunity to briefly go over the scans she had taken.

**SCREEN CRAWL: REATTEMPTING PATTERN ANALYSIS…**

**Processing…**

**SCREEN CRAWL: A.T. FIELD CONSISTENT WITH FIRST/SEVENTEENTH & EIGHTEENTH ANGELS. **

**PATTERN ANALYSIS CONFIRMED: RED**

EDEN let out a relieved sigh and went back to focusing on her self-repairs.

Everything was still going according to plan…

-Ω-

_To be continued…_

[A/N] Ahh, what fun, took a bit longer to write this one, also ended up a bit longer, but since it's turned out you actually kind of like that, I shall no longer apologise for it. Ah, Kasumi is fun to write for as it turns out and, yes, the plot thickens and expands and so much more still to be done. I know Angels could be damaged through their A.T fields by high intensity heat such as the blast from an N2 mine, however as Kaworu's field was said to be strong enough to block out everything from light down to subatomic particles, one would think that even a weakened version being generated by Shinji, complimented by a biotic field as powerful as Aria's, would stop our poor Third Child from being baked to a bipedal crisp. I also figured EDEN would make no differentiation between Tabris and Adam's AT fields as they were both technically sourced from the soul of Adam, but I'm getting down to technicalities and that'll only cause to spark debate. Next chapter will as always be out as soon as possible, I'll tweet any other updates as necessary. And so, leaving it at about 15k words since I started this little instalment, valued readers, I bid thee farewell, and it is in the vein of Episode 18 that I say:

Catch you in Chapter 22: Ambivalence


	22. Chapter 22: Ambivalence

Chapter V1.05: Minor typo corrections, couple of word changes 20/07/2013

[A/N]: If you're wondering what the above is for, it's just an indicator that will be used from now on to let you know if any alterations have been made to a chapter and when they were done, so you can judge if you feel you should reread the chapter, probably not, but I'll do it regardless. Standard warnings for chapters containing lemony aspects apply, but since nobody has complained thus far, I guess it doesn't matter, just being courteous. Anyhoo, I'll see you in just a few thousand words time…

**Chapter 22: Ambivalence**

Kasumi's content murmur spiked into a pleasured giggle as Shinji's thumb dug into the tender spot next to her shoulder blade.

The thief lay sprawled out on her chest in the captain's quarters, reduced to nothing more than a pair of black lace underwear in terms of clothing. Her hair had been let free also as she rested with her head sideways on a pillow.

Though Kasumi indeed found them relaxing, the candles, non-intrusive incense and gentle classical music had actually been for Shinji's benefit, as he'd hoped the gentle ambiance would help keep his nerves at bay. And as they'd been going for nearly twenty minutes now, he had to assume it was working.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Hmm, very, very nice…" she purred.

"Good, good…"

"I must say," she murmured, "I'm surprised you chose to start with me. Didn't you have another appointment that you need to be keeping?"

Shinji's hands froze momentarily, the consort himself shirtless as he kneeled atop of her, "Let's just say I'm working up to that one..."

Kasumi hummed happily as he gently kneaded the tensed muscles around her neckline, "Are you saying I'm easy?"

"I wouldn't dream it," he said with a smile. For someone who donned themselves in such concealing clothing, Kasumi had been all too eager to strip down to virtually nothing. He noted that whilst her skin had a rich creaminess to its tone, there was also a subtle paleness due to what he suspected was a lack of exposure to sunlight.

Though she'd seemed almost completely unashamed about her state of undress, Kasumi had however tensed when Shinji's hands had gently explored the rear of her neck and discovered the cybernetic implant fused into her skin at the base of her skull.

Shinji hadn't enquired what the purpose of the implant was, but Kasumi had shied quite uncharacteristically away at the time, hugging her arms together underneath herself as if only then conscious of the fact that she was naked from the waist up. He had flicked her hair sideways to cover that section up and she had immediately relaxed as a result. He'd wondered if that was one of the reasons she nearly always kept her hood up, and why she let her hair down when not wearing it.

He ran his hands slowly down in parallel either side of her spine, eliciting a slight shiver. Shinji couldn't help but almost be scientifically curious about her, "It's remarkable; your muscles aren't in the least bit knotted, and your tones are almost perfectly proportionate." He ran his fingertips over her right biceps, testing them in the same way.

Kasumi shifted, flushing slightly under his touch, "Well, a girl does need to keep in shape, especially in my line of work. It also helps to remain as relaxed as possible."

"Your posture, on the other hand… "He said, applying experimental pressure down the curvature of her back, "is another thing entirely. Have you considered seeing a chiropractor?"

"I have to bend and squeeze myself into all sorts of places, Shinji…" she said, seeming mildly miffed by the comment, "it's not surprising I'm a little off."

Shinji sighed, crawling over Kasumi and bracing a knee between her shoulder blades and then reaching under to grasp hold of her hip with his left hand. His other hand slipped much higher up on the opposite side.

Shinji ignored the soft mass now filling his right palm as the medical knowledge in his head took over to what can only be described as a clinical degree, "Do you slouch a lot when you sit down?" he asked, rotating his knee slightly, hunting for the sweet spot.

Kasumi drummed her fingers against the sheets under her. She then shifted her chest almost cheekily against his hand, and either Shinji didn't notice or he simply wasn't choosing to pay attention, "Maybe a little…" she lied with a slight pout.

Shinji angled himself back a little, "_Yeah?_ Well, this may not be part of the massage, but you can just think of it as a freebie. Oh, and this might feel a little weird…"

She chuckled, "You're already making me feel a little we_hee_-" Kasumi's words dissolved into a shocked squeak as Shinji coaxed a loud _crack_ from her back with his knee, her shriek transforming into a series of heaving, pleasured gasps.

"That should've helped a bit, "he commented as she settled under him, "That's what you get for lifting with your back and not with your legs…"

Kasumi's gasps had evaporated into dreamy sighs, and both the stiffened protrusion of her nipple in his palm and the goose bumps now running down her arms were proof to Shinji that he'd spiked her arousal far more than he'd actually intended, "So that's why Aria keeps you so close…" she said, her voice barely above a sigh.

Shinji smiled, "To be honest, that same technique would've probably killed an asari; different spinal layout, you see..."

"Hands of a lover…" She hummed contentedly, "It's always nice to be proven right. Now keep going…"

Shinji heard the inflection in her voice and understood the request. He hesitated, "You're sure?" he asked.

"Come now, don't be gauche, Shinji. Sha'ira wouldn't dream of letting me leave without so much as a happy ending. Or do you want to let your sempai down?"

"Oh well," he said, already teasing her areola with his upturned thumb, "If that's what you really want of me."

Kasumi squirmed happily as he gently kneaded her, his other hand going to slowly caress the nape of her neck, taking almost amused pleasure in teasing her before actually paying attention to her other breast. By the time he reached that side, Shinji had let his right hand slip free, moving slowly to roam her abdomen in gentle circles, applying only slight pressure across her already relaxed abs and coaxing her breath into deep, slow sighs. He then edged lower as she shuffled under him.

"Hmm, you're teasing me…"

"Of course I'm teasing you," he said in a low tone, scraping her left nipple with the nail of his finger precisely in time with his palm cupping the front of her underwear, "it's apparently part of my job…"

Kasumi's back arched slightly and the searing heat and moisture over his fingertips told the consort just how high he'd pushed her already. He teased her like that for a few more moments with slow, up and down teasing flicks of his fingertips until he had her squirming again before finally slipping in through the waistband of her underwear.

The consort then spent another five minutes coaxing her outer regions and most sensitive spot between the tips of his fingers before finally plunging them inside of her.

Kasumi's eyes widened in shock and Shinji felt her thigh muscles tense tightly about his leg, all the while his left hand alternated between gentle massages of her lesser erogenous zones, gently rubbing and coaxing her thighs, neck and shoulders. Meanwhile, he continued to massage her internally, pushing her higher with each gently pressured stroke.

Once Shinji had Kasumi's chest heaving with rhythmic moans in time with his manipulations, just short of her peak, he decided it was time to put an end to their little game.

Shinji leaned forward, applying pressure with his left arm to keep Kasumi secure under him. He then flipped her hair once more aside just as he adjusted his fingers to apply pressure on where he pictured her g-spot to be and moved his thumb upon her outer sensitive spot in firm, rapid circles.

Kasumi let out a startled shriek of ecstasy, thrashing under him, but he held firm, not letting the thief go and dragging her just to the edge. Finally, with a smirk that would've made Gendo Ikari shrink back in fear, Shinji leaned forward and gently kissed the soft flesh around the implants on her neck.

Kasumi screamed in shock as he pushed her violently over the edge and then held her there with the unrelenting pressure and continuous movement of his hand.

The consort heard the first syllable of somebody else's name being moaned just as he nuzzled her neck once more, suckling a gentle love bite as he dug in deeply again, curving his fingers downward. The end result had Shinji tearing his own name from the depths of Kasumi's throat as she cried out in one long, drawn out exultation until her voice was hoarse.

Only then did the consort relent and, as soon as he released her, Kasumi's body spasmed one last time and collapsed into trembling sobs beneath him, her entire body shaking as she came down.

Shinji let himself exhale a tired breath and laid slowly down by her side. As his hand brushed hers, her fingers separated reflexively to grip tightly ahold of his.

Shinji dropped onto his side with his head on the pillow so that he was looking at Kasumi. Her body was soaked with sweat and eyes wet with tears as she looked back at him.

Shinji smiled, "_Well…_" he said, brushing a tear from Kasumi's cheek as he put an arm about her, allowing the thief to draw herself up into his arms, "you did ask…" he finished, leaning in to briefly kiss the dark tattoo beneath her bottom lip. Her own lips sought out his instinctively but gained little more than a passing brush before he pulled away.

Kasumi had gone oddly silent. Shinji said nothing either and merely continued holding her in comforting quiet.

As far as Shinji was concerned he had merely done what a consort does, which was what she needed him to. In this case, he'd exposed Kasumi's heart for just the briefest of instances to the present; tearing it for just a second away from the cycle of pleasant memories that it dwelled in, stuck and unable to move forward.

It wasn't much, considered Shinji, but it was a very good start…

With her muscles drained and emotional energy gone, Kasumi settled up against Shinji.

As Shinji looked down at the thief, he realised that he was starting to understand what Aria had meant. This hadn't felt like anything he'd done with her. As blatantly sexual as the act with Kasumi was, and while he did gain a level of enjoyment from it, it merely felt like offering solace to someone in need, merely enjoying the act of giving. He couldn't deny there was almost a business-like element to it also, but that seemed by far secondary. He supposed he was starting to understand Sha'ira in that respect too then. Unlike her however, Shinji wasn't sure if he'd ever take monetary payment for that kind of service, and most likely it would be a different kind of exchange that went on. Also unlike his Citadel counterpart, Shinji was sure he'd be on a referral basis only, subject to approval of course. Such a method of operation would be necessary when one considered that he had a permanently active duty to Aria.

But as far as he may ever go, as much an offering of love and compassion the consort may give, it wouldn't be the same as his love for Aria. In that regard, Shinji supposed that he was finally starting to understand what Kaworu had meant all that time ago when he said that he'd loved him. It felt good to offer that same, unconditional affection toward others.

Shinji lay back against the headboard, holding his client and friend in silence. He wasn't sure when it was that Kasumi got the strength to speak, but he guessed it was about half an hour before she actually uttered another word, "Can I ask something?"

"Of course," he replied.

"Why didn't you go further?" she asked, shifting so that she was sitting up in his arms and looking up at him.

Shinji didn't need her to clarify and just looked away, smiling wistfully, "I didn't think that was within my…I think _remit_ is the word."

Kasumi cocked her head, "If you'd have given me another second before finishing me off back there I was going to ask if you were waiting for me to beg," she looked at him inquisitively, "are you saying you weren't…tempted by me?"

Shinji gulped, allowing himself to flush, "In retrospect…I was very, very tempted."

"Retrospect?"

Shinji frowned, "It's kind of hard to explain...It was like how I was when I used to pilot: I sort of…detach myself just a little bit, like I'm there, but sort of remotely controlling myself from the outside."

"And now…?" she breathed with playful seductiveness, thought Kasumi didn't need to ask, as the evidence was quite obvious. She then went on, "If you'd like, I could…"

Shinji cut Kasumi off by leaning in and kissing her with gentle warmth and equally playful amusement. His tongue danced rhythmically with hers for a moment before pulling back, his hand coming up to touch her cheek and unconsciously mimicking his counterpart consort's mannerism.

Kasumi smiled, "Appointment over?"

Shinji smiled back, brushing his thumb over her cheek, "With that, yes."

Kasumi sighed, "First time a man's left _himself_ high and dry with me. I really must be losing my edge…"

Shinji chuckled slightly, "Trust me, you're not." His expression then softened, "You're a really good friend, Kasumi…"

"_Ouch_," remarked Kasumi weakly, flopping back, "right in the ego…" she looked up at him as he ran a hand through her slightly matted hair, "but I understand that you need to save your stamina. You still have another appointment to keep, after all." Kasumi watched as Shinji's expression wavered for a moment. He looked away, suddenly regarding the bulkhead opposite in silence.

She sat up by him, bringing her knees up to cover her chest, "What's wrong?"

"I'm worried…" he replied after a moment.

"That much I could tell. I won't push, but I'd like you to clarify."

"I'm…worried I may sound like a hypocrite," he admitted after a pause.

She shuffled about slightly to face him, "What do you mean?"

Shinji's shoulders sank slightly, "You know I have a certain something that I have to handle later…"

"I believe this something has a name, as well as a very pretty tattoo of a lagoon down her left thigh."

Shinji's eyes flicked to Kasumi and away again with mild irritation, "…yes."

"Well you've already accepted the task, meaning you already took the first step, and they say giving up before you finish-"

"-is worse than never trying at all," cut in Shinji tiredly, "Yes, I know… Someone I used to know once told me that too."

"Then why all the worry? If that was just your opening act back there then I actually feel a bit scared for our little blue pilot."

Shinji inhaled a breath, his fingers idly twiddling in his lap "I'm worried because I…I think I know what it was she did, and that I'm really not sure I'm the person to help her with it."

"And why is that?"

His hands dropped to the sheets, "Because I may have done something similar in my past once…and I'm still not sure I've forgiven myself yet…"

Kasumi was quiet for a moment, "Then perhaps you're perfect for the task."

"Kasumi?"

Her voice had softened noticeably when she replied, "A consort doesn't need to be better than their client, they just need to be the ones who try to understand them a little, which is all any of us really want sometimes."

Shinji fell into silence as he sat with his legs dangling over the side of the bed. He dwelled on her words and felt his resolve return. His knuckles cracked as he gripped his knees and his gaze narrowed.

Shinji swivelled about, "Kasumi Goto," he suddenly said, leaning briefly in to kiss her on the cheek and offer a final, friendly embrace, "_Thank you…_"

Kasumi just smiled that mischievous grin of hers and hugged back, humming contentedly. She then settled back, curling herself up in his sheets, "You go freshen up and get ready. I'll be stealing your bed for the next few hours."

Shinji nodded and watched as she settled down to sleep before heading off to shower. He donned himself in a casual navy blue shirt and black pants before departing, being careful not to wake his sleeping guest as he left.

-Ω-

Shinji disembarked from the elevator and turned to find Aria leaning back against the wall near the lounge door, one foot braced flat against the surface behind her and arms folded.

"_So_…how did it go?" she asked, her eyes turning to him, the barest makings of a smile on her face.

Shinji shrugged, "She asked for a massage, I gave her a massage," he rolled his eyes before she could speak again, "and _yes_, it ended exactly how you said it would…"

Aria's smile widened a fraction, "And now?"

"Sleeping like a kitten."

"Good _job_…"

"Are you saying you doubted me?" he asked, stopping in front of her.

She smirked, "not for a moment."

Shinji smiled, but then his expression shifted, turning almost serious.

"What is it?" asked Aria with a slight frown.

"There's something I need…" replied Shinji, looking away, "from you," he clarified.

"What is it you need?"

Shinji turned to look at her, "I just…need this…" he said, hooking an arm behind Aria's neck and pulling her down so he could press his lips to hers, pushing her back and kissing her with deep, passionate desperation.

Aria's startled mumble became a low, throaty growl. Her tensed hands entwined with Shinji's as her other arm hooked round the small of his back to hold him close against her.

Shinji needed this; he needed to completely _feel_ again. He felt her dip into his memories, the passionate flame of her mind sweeping aside his barriers to quench his need as her arousal rose from the assimilation of information.

Shinji pulled his lips from hers, exhaling a hot breath as he rested his forehead against hers. He swallowed a gulp, "Thanks…"

"Any time…and I mean that."

Shinji just smiled tiredly and rested his head against Aria's shoulder for a moment as she kept him in her arms, "Really?" she asked, "You didn't take _anything_ out of that encounter for yourself when you had the chance? She practically spelled out that she was offering herself to you."

Shinji smiled, still resting, "I got everything I needed from Kasumi. Any more would have left me…indebted. She gave me what I need to move onward."

Aria smirked, running a hand idly through his hair, "Alright, but I don't expect you to be so reserved with your next appointment. Give me something to feel next time."

"I'll do my best…"

Aria's smirk widened, "You won't have to try. Let's just say I'm not the only asari on this ship with a wild side."

Shinji slipped free, stretching his arms upward, "To be fair, I wouldn't really say that you have a wild side; more like your gentle, reserved side happens to be less a side and more an abstract mathematical concept."

"Funny," she responded as dryly as ever.

Shinji frowned, "Wait a moment. We just…did all that right here in the corridor?"

"_Yes_…" intoned Aria, "I _was_ there at the time. What about it?"

Shinji looked about, "It's nothing. I just thought it was odd that EDEN didn't say something. She normally complains."

Aria smirked again and pushed off from the wall, "It's not as odd as you might think..." She said, and Shinji followed the asari to the lounge door as it opened ahead of her.

Shinji's eyes widened in surprise as the doors opened to reveal EDEN curled up on the chair, apparently unconscious, her dark hair noticeably dishevelled, "What happened to her?" he asked.

Aria shrugged, "You were the one who asked me to try and get along with her, and so I did…"

Shinji blinked, "You got our ship's main computer drunk?"

Aria inclined her head, "She wasn't a lightweight, but she did eventually drop after the second bottle of quintuple distilled vodka. It wasn't my fault she didn't know moderation…"

Aria folded her arms to regard the still AI with a frown, "Not long after the first bottle she apparently managed to figure out what my 'problem' is."

"Not that I would think, assume or say that you _do_ have a problem-"

"-Nicely dodged-"

"-thank you, but what did she say?"

"Apparently_,_ her diagnosis of my problem is that…I'm a bitch. Apparently, I'm '_such_ a bitch'. _Apparently,_ I'm 'a violent, psychotic, cold-hearted, self-centred, narcissistic, greedy, manipulative bitch who doesn't deserve your time of day'."

"Wow…" commented Shinji, who really wasn't sure what else to say.

There was silence.

"_Well_, I wouldn't have called you _cold-hearted_…"

"Why thank you for that _ringing endorsement._"

Much to her irritation, Shinji just laughed, that annoying little chuckle she couldn't help but sort of like.

Still smiling, Shinji turned back to EDEN, "I'm sure she just needed to get it off her chest. I'm sure when she wakes up, you and she will be-"

"-hmmm_bitch_…" slurred EDEN drunkenly before going silent again.

"Or not…" he sighed with an inclination of his head, "Well, I'd better go and drop her off in the Medi-Bay," he said, bending down and scooping EDEN up. He was mildly surprised by how light the artificial body actually was, "After that I'd best go and…" he abruptly trailed off, eyes going distant.

"Will you be alright?" asked Aria.

His gaze narrowed, "I handled Kasumi first to see if my resolve was up for the task."

"And?"

Shinji closed his eyes and inhaled a calm breath which he then let slowly out. He turned his head to look at Aria dead-on, "I think so, yes…" and just like that, he was smiling again.

Aria inclined her head approvingly.

Shinji moved for the door, only to halt, "W-what about-"

Aria cut him off before he could finish expressing what she considered unnecessary concern, though she'd never admit that she was at least _partly_ touched by it, "-I'm going to turn in. I've had enough fun for one day. Now get moving."

He nodded and took a step, only to pause, "B-but Kasumi's still in my bed."

Aria looked suddenly away, as if contemplating an idea. Slowly, a wry smile appeared on her face, "_Really…?_"

Shinji looked about ready to say something, and instead just smiled once more, "At least try to be gentle…"

"I make no promises."

The consort shook his head and laughed, departing for the Medi-Bay with the MAGI in his arms.

-Ω-

Hayabashi was nowhere to be seen and the Medi-Bay was dark when Shinji entered.

It was late, so Shinji assumed the doctor had retired to the quarters she shared with his asari communications officer, whom he had been reliably informed was also the doctor's partner. The Third Child had rightly guessed their mutual recruitment to be no coincidence.

An empty coffee cup sat atop the desk with a white coat slung over the chair's back. Shinji walked to the back of the room and set EDEN down on the bed closest her core doorway. He wasn't entirely sure why he then chose to cover her with a blanket from the locker above, but felt it wrong to just leave her there exposed.

Shinji looked down at her in silence with a reflective smile, "Been a long time since I've had to put you to bed…" he mused, "Some things never change."

He then turned about and headed for the door.

"Shinji-kun…?" came EDEN's murmur from behind him.

He paused and glanced back, "Yes, EDEN?" he asked, seeing her looking at him with just one brown eye open, her hair obscuring most of her face. She then pulled her blanket up higher and muttered something unintelligible before closing her eye again.

Shinji waited for EDEN to speak again, but after a moment of silence he once again turned to leave. He opened the door and stepped outside. That was when her voice followed him out from the darkness behind, "I'm happy for you…"

Shinji stepped back as the bay door abruptly closed, locking him out. He let out a tired sigh as he regarded the metal door, "Drinking yourself into a stupor to get the courage to actually say what you want to say?" he then walked off, shaking his head, "You really are Misato Katsuragi, aren't you…"

-Ω-

Tisala had decked herself out in a pair of shorts and matching tank top after leaving the shower room, fully rejuvenated from her evening exercises, a damp towel slung loosely round her neck.

The asari officer found there were few better ways to relieve stress and to take your mind off things than a good period of physical exertion. And on a crew full of pirates and mercenaries, both the gym and shooting gallery down on deck five were essential for when the crew got the urge to let loose. And as Tisala felt her shooting eye was as sharp as it was ever really going to be, she preferred the burn of lifting weights and laying into the punching bag to channel her aggression over what she considered a waste of perfectly good thermal clips.

While her position as XO afforded Tisala her own private room, due to space constraints this didn't extended to a private bathing facility, not that this bothered her too much, she occasionally liked the company and light conversation when refreshing herself. Her only rules in such situations however were no staring and no flirting. If they wanted to do that whilst she was stark naked they would have to pay the fee just like everybody else.

Tisala had been expecting the welcoming silence of her quarters when she unlocked the door and entered. What she hadn't expected was to see her Captain donned in dark casual wear lounged up against the viewing port as he looked out over the moving starscape. His fingertips idly traced over the transparent surface.

She stepped inside, letting the door close behind her.

There was a brief moment of silence.

"Hope you don't mind…" he murmured quietly, cocking his head sideways in silent apology, "I let myself in..."

Shinji kept focus on her out the corner of his eye, and while he hadn't looked into whether or not asari could blush, the consort could've sworn that the rich blue hue of Tisala's skin just became somewhat more pronounced.

"Captain…"

"_Captain_?" he echoed with bemusement, glancing at her.

She shifted, "Shinji…" she corrected, "_Sorry_, still in work mode. Now, skipping the why, I suppose I should ask exactly _how_ you got in here."

He smiled, "I'm the captain, aren't I?"

"_Yes_, except I customised the lock on this room, even your command code wouldn't override it."

"Alright, I admit it: I hacked it with my Omnitool…"

"Okay…_why_?"

"Because I didn't want to risk you saying this might be a bad time and turning me away."

She inclined her head, "The logic fits, I won't deny that," she said, walking further into the room and tossing her towel down over the back of her desk chair, "but what brings you by?"

He turned to face her, "I owe you a favour, don't I? I just thought I'd drop by and repay it."

She smiled coyly, "Forgive me if I'm incorrect, but is it not more traditional for the one owed the favour to dictate the terms? What you want to give me and what I want to take from you may be two very different things."

Shinji shrugged, "Let's just say that my giving rather than waiting is all part of the favour."

Shinji's eyes did a brief up and down of Tisala as she took a step closer, "I was going to wait until I was a little more…_prepared_, but…"

Shinji took note of the remark. Repressed, was what Aria had said. If that was the case, then just letting her relieve some tension wouldn't work.

"I take it I have Aria's permission to…borrow you?" she asked, her tone lowering slightly.

Shinji inclined his head, seeming undisturbed as she stepped into his personal space, "It was her idea that I pay you a visit, but I wouldn't worry about her. I'm guessing by now she's already found something else to play with for the evening."

"Well then…" she said, reaching a hand slowly up, "like my father used to say: if an opportunity presents itself, grasp it first, question it later."

Her hand moved slowly to touch his cheek, Shinji's eyes following it in silence. Then it hesitated, Shinji felt the heat emanate from her palm as it hovered there, yearning but somehow fearful. His eyes went back to her. Her arm was tense, and the look in her sapphire eyes was equally intense.

Her hand clenched and she looked away, drawing it back.

It took a moment for her to speak again, "You…know that I'm attracted to you, don't you?"

"It has been suggested to me, yes."

She smiled weakly, cradling her clenched hand against her chest, "That and the fact that I've been shamelessly hitting on you for the past few months.

"The thing is…if this is going to be the only time, then I'm not sure I can go through with it. I would rather have the possibility remain open than waste it. That might be too painful."

Shinji tilted his head acceptingly, "I didn't say it would be the only time, but all future appointments really would be subject to the boss' prior approval. Although she has implied that she might have to supervise in future to ensure all proper workplace procedures are followed."

Tisala chuckled, "Aria really does have her positive points, I won't deny that."

The asari's smile softened, "If that's the case…" she said, stepping even closer. Her hand then came to rest on the small of the consort's back and she drew him close. He offered no resistance, letting her lead for now.

This time her other hand did make contact as she ran her fingers through Shinji's hair to cradle the back of his head, her index finger idly tracing the back of his neck in slow, teasing circles, "…then I really don't see any need to delay this further." She whispered as she brought her lips close to his.

"Can I ask you to do something for me?" asked Shinji quietly as he ran his palm gently up and down the exposed skin of her hip, his lips brushing hers with each word.

"Of course…" she breathed, letting her eyes close.

Shinji kept his open, but narrowed them slightly, "Tell me about Marleena…"

He felt Tisala's entire body freeze, the tendons under his fingertips tensed. Her eyes were no longer closed.

A soft smile appeared on Shinji's face. He gently took hold of her upper arms and ushered her now rigid frame back, allowing him to slip free and then drop calmly down onto the edge of the bed. She turned to look at him in silence.

The truth of the situation went unspoken, but it was as clear as day regardless: this had been his intention all along.

He watched her posture change; her shoulders sagging slightly in defeat as a tired smile spread over her face, "I don't suppose we could just skip right past this…"

Shinji just smiled calmly and shook his head, "Afraid not. It's a package deal: talk first, mind-bending sex afterwards."

"And what's to stop me-"

"-I've also hacked your door, " he cut in gently, "We're locked in until I say otherwise," he inclined his head acceptingly, "Though there isn't anything stopping you from saying nothing, but being alone for an eternity has left me both very patient and very good with silence."

Shinji laid slowly back onto the bed, resting his hands up behind his head and turning his attention to the unfamiliar ceiling above, "Take as much time as you need. I'll be right here…"

The human stayed true to his word, and Tisala noted the only change in his position as she began pacing silently was for him to raise a single hand up in front of his face, as if to either block out the light from above to simply to examine it for reasons unknown. She'd never understand some of the strange mannerisms she'd noted in him since they'd met, be it his odd habit of humming classical music at quite random moments, or the way he'd shy away just a few steps whenever they'd walk past a large body of water.

She glanced down at him. If this ended up as a staring contest she was surely going to lose.

"Where's my Omnitool?" she asked.

"On the bridge…" chimed Shinji. He heard her curse under her breath in response before going back to pacing for a few more minutes.

Shinji felt the mattress shift and he looked down to see Tisala sat on the edge of the bed with her back to him, head downturned.

After a moment of hesitation, Shinji watched her look slowly up to regard the stars as they zipped by outside, "What do you want to know?"

Shinji shrugged slightly, "Nothing in particular. I just want you to tell me about her."

She went quiet again, "…Alright," she intoned quietly after a pause, "Why don't you tell me what you know first."

"Not much..."

"You know that she had a…condition, yes?"

Shinji nodded, "I know she was an Ardat-Yakshi, yes."

"Do you even know what that expression means?" she demanded, her voice trembling slightly, "It means 'demon of the night-winds' in the old dialect. By the Goddess I hate that phrase…"

"She-"

"-My sister was _not_ a demon!" she snapped, looking round to glare at the human.

Shinji hid the surprise from his expression. He suspected this was something she'd either said a million times before, or at the very least wanted to."

Tisala exhaled and looked forward again, shaking her head, "She _wasn't_. My sister was beautiful, and she would never harm a soul."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"-I know you didn't," she cut in quietly, "It's just…the way we treat them; like they're some kind of disgrace that deserves nothing more than to be killed off or hidden away, when they're equally as much victims. No, _we're _the disgraceful ones. Asari as a rule like to act wise and cordial around other races, but the fact is we can be very hypocritical in nature…"

"Why don't you tell me what she was like…" said Shinji quietly.

A distant smile appeared on her face, "So very kind, never had a bad word to say against anyone. She had so much love in her. Despite what she was, as far as I know she only ever mated once, and that was how…how we learned…" she trailed off.

"…I understand. Carry on."

She nodded, "Everyone was inconsolable afterward, especially Marleena. They discovered her over her partner's body; a young turian girl who she'd grown close to, Larris was her name. Not that I knew her of course, this all happened long before I was born. All I do know is that she was the first and last person my sister ever got to love in that sense.

"Then of course comes the choice: exile or execution. A third option was almost taken though when Marleena tried to take her own life that same night. It was my Mother who convinced her both to accept exile and also to accept that what had happened simply wasn't her fault.

"I don't think mother ever really forgave herself however. That's what led to the breakdown of her relationship with Marleena's father; an asari trade executive who she'd been with for over a hundred years by that point."

Tisala paused in her dialogue to stand up and approach the dresser by her bed. Atop it, resting on a small velvet pad was a silver chain with a pendant attached, "Here…" she said, handing it to Shinji.

He took it, gingerly resting the length of the chain over his hands to carefully examine the pendant. It was teardrop-shaped and barely the size of a thumbnail. Shinji thought it was made of crystal, but then he noticed at the centre there appeared to be a strange translucent shard that caused the light to refract into strange and bizarre swirls of blue as it passed through. It was like nothing he'd ever seen before, "What is it?" he breathed.

"Crystallised eezo suspended in a diamond shell," she replied, "Don't tell anyone, but that little piece there is probably worth half the cost of this whole ship."

Shinji cocked his head, "I can see why you keep your room locked up so tight…"

"My sister found that fragment whilst tending her garden at the monastery. I first met her when I was seven, tiny little thing I was back then, far too small for my age.

"Like many with her condition, Marleena was allowed supervised visits to family and other places from time to time depending on good behaviour, and since hers was never anything but, she did get out quite a bit.

"I was so nervous when I first met her… I remember it so clearly: I was hiding behind my mother's leg when Marleena just reached around and dropped that round my neck. Then she just smiled that sad, content little smile of hers and said 'Hello, Tisala…I'm your big sister. I would like it so very much if we could get along.' And then she just crouched there, waiting for me to come out. And I've loved her from the second I stepped out and into her arms.'"

Shinji waited for her to continue as she stared out at the stars, "We used to play together. She'd read and sing to me and teach me things she'd learned during her studies. I miss her songs most of all…oh, how I miss that voice…" she paused to take a shuddering breath, "and by the Goddess I used to scream when she had to go. I didn't understand it at that age, didn't get why we couldn't all live together. I blamed my mother for not stopping them, shouted and screamed at her and called her everything under the sun. I didn't realise then that she was the one who was hurting most of all every time she had to say goodbye. I used to swear that I'd grow up and rescue her, fly in and take her away somewhere safe where we could all be happy together…I really was such a fool back then.

"My father was fond of her too; they used to like talking strategy. Trying to keep up is probably what led to me being where I am today. I remember how that, 'as a member of his household' he insisted that she refer to him as father also…my mother once told me she'd never loved a person any more than she had when he'd said those words. Of course, he didn't grasp the stigma attached to the situation, called it 'foolishness', and 'pompous asari arrogance'…I loved him so much every time he'd say something like that, and I can see now why my mother loved that silly, gun-obsessed old man as much as she did."

"You don't talk much about your mother," commented Shinji, steering things subtly.

"Not much to say. She's alive and well last I checked. She's CEO of a quite sizable business conglomerate operating across most of Citadel Space."

"And when did you last check?"

She shrugged, "She appears regularly enough on the news nets. Just have to check the business channels and she shows up often enough. So…just last week in answer to your question."

Shinji's gaze narrowed, "That's not what I meant. When did you last talk to her?"

"I…I ah…" she stammered, clenching her eyes shut and cocking her head to the side, "I've let her know that I'm alive and well. She's kept updated."

"Answer my question: When did you last actually talk to you mother, Tisala?"

There was a long period of silence, almost two minutes, "…a few years ago," she said, her voice tiny and barely audible, "Not since my assignment on Thessia."

Shinji pushed forward, "So, you were assigned to Thessia…"

She nodded, smiling sadly, "First and…well… _second_ last Spectre assignment," she said, glancing briefly at Shinji and back, "I was given the option of several details when I arrived."

"One being Varis Island," commented Shinji.

"Yes. Job was simple: support the extraction squads sent in to evacuate any remaining civilians, and if extraction wasn't possible…" she went silent again for a brief pause, her voice low when she spoke again, "…to ensure the Reapers weren't able to acquire any of the populous as resources…by any means necessary."

"Did you tell them?" asked Shinji.

She looked back at him, "Did I tell them what?"

"The real reason you chose the assignment."

Again, a clenching of the eyes, a show of distress, but rousing so many associated memories had had the desired effect, "…N-no…" she stammered, "Of _course_ I didn't! If I had, the justicar in charge of the dispatches would've had me reassigned to the other side of the planet in a heartbeat."

"Tell me what happened, Tisala," said Shinji, "What happened when you arrived on Varis Island?"

It took the asari a while to respond, but eventually the silence of her neatly ordered and sparsely decorated quarters was broken as she began dictating. Shinji saw her eyes go vacant, "Arrival site reached successfully; no resistance encountered. No sign of survivors around main landing pad. Proceeded to main gathering chamber. Extraction squads located; heavy resistance encountered: eight repurposed targets with numerous supporting forces. Escape shuttle destroyed on landing pad by aerial assault.

"Offered support until emergency extraction shuttle could reach the Island. Defensive lines breached upon arrival of enemy reinforcements. Ninety per cent of extraction squads lost before arrival of replacement shuttle. Spectre officer Tisala offered momentary resistance to retreat, no explanation for this action was given. All inhabitants of Varis Island confirmed terminated or repurposed. Mission failed."

Tisala gasped as Shinji's hands caressed the rear of her neck and came to rest gently on her shoulders, "Okay…" he breathed, his hands sliding slowly down the bare skin of her arms to grip her hands "So you're in the gathering chamber, reinforcements have arrived to get you out…what happens then?"

"Please don't…" came her whimper as his thumb circled the back of her hand, his left hand briefly moving to caress the tender skin under her crests.

He then slipped his fingers though hers and leaned forwards so he was embracing her from behind. His voice was like the breeze as he whispered in her ear, "Tell me…what you see…"

She began to shake in his arms slightly. Her next response was a choked sob. He held her tighter.

She took a shuddering breath, "I see her…" she finally said, "The banshees drift through the smoke and dust, vanishing and reappearing, closer…and closer. Their screeches block out everything. I see her…the banshee's support units have them secured. She's with two others, the last of them…she was standing before them, like she's shielding them from their fate, but their eyes are already black, they've already been taken…she's now the last. Fifty paces away…I have to get to her, she's not lost yet. I could get to her. I could slip by the Banshees, I'm more than a match for their support…but there's still the squad…still the women I'm here to save. I go…they die. I'm a Council Spectre; my duty is to those under my command, for now I will stay.

"Then the walls behind explode. A shuttle tears though the smoke…suddenly, I'm being dragged back…I thrash and shake them off, I backhand the matriarch in command of the evac force as she hauls me toward the shuttle…I could still…_No_…not any more. Sixty-three paces now…The enemy are closing…I stop resisting and bring my weapon to bear and provide supressing fire. Then she sees me, only _then_ does she see me. Her eyes are locked with mine over such a distance; my sister, so kind and so wise…she looks so scared and so alone. We both pause, and then, just before her eyes turn black like the others, she smiles, and just like that, I'm back behind my mother's leg with her smiling down at me all those years ago, just looking for a little sister to love her…

"I alter my aim at the last second…"

Tisala trailed off into silence, eyes vacant and staring ahead.

Her muscles then tensed up in Shinji's arms and the silence was shattered as the asari let out a sudden, terrible cry of despair.

Shinji jumped up and slid round to take her in his arms just as she collapsed to her knees and broke down into loud, uncontrollable sobs right then and there, shaking her head against his chest as she wept.

Shinji wasn't sure how long Tisala cried for. It felt like hours before she even seemed to respond to his quietly murmured reassurances.

Shinji's arms and knees ached from the position he'd been in for so long, but he didn't so much as nudge himself to a more comfortable position lest he disturb her in some way. She had been quiet for such a long time, and Shinji could tell she was waiting for him to speak.

"I know…" he finally said, hand still gently caressing down her back, "I know if I say something like 'you had no choice' or 'you did the right thing' it won't help…it doesn't make the pain go away or make us feel even slightly better…I _know_..."

He was silent again and just held her, nuzzling the top of her head as he continued, "I know that, regardless of how it may have been the right thing from the outside, we still would've both rather have died than let it happen the way it did…but nothing will change the fact that it _did_ happen that way."

"Why do you think she smiled in the end?" he asked, and felt her head shift, as if reflexively moving to look at him, but then settled on resting it where it was against his chest, "Was it because she thought that she might be rescued? I doubt that. Or was it because you gave her something she wanted more than anything: you made sure that she didn't die alone and forgotten. I think she smiled because she knew you would survive, and that you loved her right up until the end…"

"And that's supposed to make me feel better? That I lived?"

"No…" said Shinji, "we're not supposed to feel better, but we've_ got_ to move on…because that's what they want us to do. You have the gift of living on for her through the days that she won't," Shinji reached over to the nightstand and slowly slipped the pendent around her neck and gently cupped her hands to it. He watched her thumbs play over it as she stared into its depths through her teary eyes, "Is that a gift you want to squander?"

He watched her for a while until finally she cupped the shimmering droplet together in her hands and held it tenderly against her chest.

As Tisala reached back and gripped onto his arm, the other still cradling the pendent against her, Shinji finally felt comfortable with coming out and saying it: "I had this friend…a long time ago, Toji was his name. Like me, he was another EVA pilot. His EVA, Unit-03, was taken over by a parasitic entity and I was ordered to engage it.

"I refused, was scared that I'd hurt him, screamed that I'd rather die than risk it…so the option was taken from my hands and it happened anyway, _using_ my hands. And then there was Misato, the woman EDEN was based off along with my mother. She died taking a bullet for me, and I blamed myself for that one at the time too.

"Tisala. My friend got hurt, not because of anything I did, but because a monster took over the EVA he was piloting. Misato got killed not because of anything I did, but because a soldier aimed a weapon at her and pulled the trigger.

"And this is what you need to hear: Your sister died not because you stayed to protect those who needed you, but because the Reapers tried to take over her mind; to twist her into something horrible. Your choices were either a dignified end, or leaving her to become one of those…_things,_ and then going on to kill so many more. Going by what you've told me, I can say with pretty much all certainty which option Marleena would have picked. "

Shinji paused to take a calming breath, "And now, after all these years, I can finally say this to both of us: There was _nothing_ we could've done, and whilst we may not have been able to rescue our loved ones, at least in the end we were both able to save them…"

As Tisala turned slowly about and wrapped her arms around Shinji to embrace him properly, he knew that he had succeeded in helping them both reach that one thing they had needed most of all:

Acceptance.

Tisala cried in silence for a little while after that, but eventually she composed herself and gently pushed the consort to arm's length, who in turn reached up to gently brush the last tear from her cheek with his thumb.

Finally, she managed a weak smile, "I think I'd best give my Mother a call in the morning…"

He smiled back, "You do that…" and he leaned up to kiss her fondly on the forehead. He then watched as she turned to look out the window in silence once more.

Shinji stood back, waiting patiently, "Tisala, I've told you what I thought you needed to hear. Now it's your turn: tell me what _you_ feel you need."

"I need…_" _she said, pausing to swallow a lump in her throat, her voice thick with emotion as she turned to look at him once more. Her eyes were still moist as her tone dropped to barely above a whisper, "I just need to not be alone tonight..."

Shinji smiled, closing his eyes to nod his head, "Of course…" he then looked at her with that tender stare and extended a hand toward her in offering, which Tisala took with gentle reverence to draw them both together.

Suddenly, Tisala was hesitant again, and Shinji couldn't help but smile warmly at how timid she could sometimes become. And so, he made the first move for her. He simply reached up and gently touched one cheek, slipping his hand round the back of her head to draw her close until her lips brushed just ever-so slightly over his.

That brief contact was all it took. To Shinji, it seemed as if something greatly overstretched had suddenly, _finally_ snapped within her. The asari's eyes closed and her hands came up to pull him forcibly closer to maintain the contact. She inhaled sharply and let out a hot, insistent breath as she proceeded to invade his mouth with her tongue, her hands exploring through his hair and down his torso as she undid his buttons with practiced fingers.

Reciprocating, Shinji's hands went to remove her top. She briefly let him go to allow him to pull it over her head before pressing her open mouth back against his.

Shinji let the swell of one ample breast fill his palm, gently tugging an already engorged nipple between his fingers as his left hand slipped round her back to gently tease and massage the sensitive spot at the base of her spine in slow, smooth circles.

Tisala let out a whimper in his mouth as her hand slipped easily into the front of his trousers. He tensed as she began to massage him to full arousal with a soft, strong hand, inviting what she considered satisfying groans as she removed the article of clothing with her other hand, kicking it aside with one foot.

Really not wanting to lose, Shinji held his lips to hers and pushed her back against the window, drawing his tongue down the nape of her neck and over her chest as her nails gripped into his shoulders, her breath coming in short, even gasps.

Tisala's breath caught as his teeth raked over one swollen nipple, applying suction as he teased it with the tip of his tongue, but he was only stopping to say hello. He moved lower, trailing gentle kisses over her firm, heaving abdomen and navel.

She arched her back as he pulled her free of her shorts. Her arousal was palpable and she began whimpering as Shinji drew his mouth slowly over her inner thigh. The asari let out a startled squeak as the tip of the consort's tongue made contact with her moist folds.

Tisala's lip was trembling as she held tightly onto Shinji's shoulders. Her toes curled under her as his tongue finally slipped inside and began to slowly savour her with rhythmic, internal caresses. Her legs buckled as his hands reached behind her and began attacking the weak spot on her lower back. Shinji hummed both with amusement and satisfaction, the subtle vibrations sending another shiver up her spine as he drove her higher and higher, pushing her toward a crescendo like any good musician would.

Finally, her legs began to give way, only for Shinji's hand to shoot up and press firmly against her abdomen, holding her up. That was when he drew himself slowly back up, pausing only to kiss gently the engorged centre of her untouched breast, coating it and allowing him to massage it firmly between two fingers as he brought himself back up to look at her eye to eye.

The asari's normally sapphire blue eyes were now glistening black pools filled with tears of desperation. Shinji nodded with understanding, still massaging her gently as he crouched down slightly to lift her leg up and then stepped forward between them, resting his forehead against hers. Her lips briefly twitched out to brush his on instinct as he released her breast to entwine his fingers with hers.

She was literally trembling with desire by now as Shinji positioned himself against her heated opening.

Embrace…." She managed to choke out. Shinji smiled reassuringly at her, "…._Eternity!_" And just as her mind flooded into his, Shinji held tightly onto her and thrust himself deep into the hot, moist core of her body.

Tisala's wail of pleasure escalated into a startled scream of undiluted ecstasy, her back arching so suddenly that it was lucky she was so flexible, else she probably would've done some serious damage.

Shinji bathed in the physical sensations as he rhythmically thrust into her, pressing her back firmly as he felt her mind within his. So different it was. It didn't burn like Aria's, but instead held a timid, almost naïve sense of self, backed by a shockingly powerful will and the magnificently complex layout of an officer. The damage in her heart was prevalent though, still fresh.

As he pleasured her body he coaxed her into letting him in. Tisala sobbed loudly with pleasure as he let himself complement her, filling the gaps she had created within herself and most importantly, showing her that, even though she still blamed herself, maybe, just maybe, she could learn to forgive herself…and then added the solace and confidence, from a heart that knew the same pain, that she would be okay…everything was going to be okay.

It was with that: that seed of confidence being planted deep in her core which finally pushed her over the edge. The emotional relief combined with the physical stimulation was too much as Tisala's body rocked with climax, the sensations feeding back into her partner and dragging him with her, the human crying out in pleasure as her powerful internal muscles massaged him throughout his own orgasm, drawing his essence deep into her body as he shook against her. Her fingernails dug into his back, forcing him to stay connected to her.

They crashed down from on high a moment later and Shinji fell back on the bed behind with his partner on top of him. Tisala's fingers became entwined in his matted hair as they kissed in the afterglow, embraced in each other's arms. Shinji's right hand then moved out briefly to draw the covers over their naked forms.

Tisala rolled off him after a while with a gasp, hand going up to her forehead as her chest heaved for air, "_Wow…_" she said, swallowing a gulp, "That was…that was…"

"I'm glad I could help," said Shinji, glancing sideways at her, the ghost of a smile on his face.

"_Yeah…"_ she gasped. Her hand then went to his shoulder and gently tilted him up to look at his back, revealing the long series of scratches there, "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to…"

Shinji glanced over his shoulder, smirking briefly, "Are you kidding? On a scale of one to Aria, these are barely a four and a half."

She managed a wry smile, "_Okay, _but…on a scale of one to Aria in terms of-"

"-On a scale of one to Tisala," cut in Shinji gently, running a thumb over her cheek, "That was at least an eleven."

Her expression softened, murmuring "Nicely dodged…" dreamily as Shinji shuffled over and drew an arm about her, cradling her close.

He ran a gentle hand over the back of her head as she settled up against him, eyes drifting closed. Shinji watched as her breathing became more even as sleep quickly overcame the tired asari. He then sat like that for a while, just watching over her now peaceful form.

He'd helped.

He'd helped a friend and loved one simply by compassion and empathy.

The reason he hadn't compared the physical act to what he did with Aria was simply because what he did with Aria was something else entirely. And his bondmate to-be had known that long before even he did. For some reason, Shinji was shocked that it took him this long to understand.

Shinji paused to muse: Helping people just by offering some simple understanding and occasional physical companionship?

He began to wonder if perhaps Sha'ira had been right: perhaps he really had been destined for this role…

-Ω-

Shinji had fulfilled his contract and remained with Tisala until she'd awoken the next morning in his arms.

After a brief embrace and one final, parting kiss, they departed their separate ways to get freshened up and thus return their relationship to normal, or, as the asari had somewhat coyly added, at least until next time…whenever that may be.

Shinji exited his shower with a robe draped loosely on. He was mildly startled to find Aria lounging back against the empty fish tank that occupied one wall of the room, waiting for him.

He smiled, "Good morning, Aria."

She inclined her head, "I suppose it is." She then regarded him inquisitively, "_Well, _how did it go?"

Shinji said nothing, but the edge of his mouth slowly pulled into a slight, somewhat smug smirk.

The makings of a smile appeared on Aria's face, "_Good job…_"

Shinji's smile widened, and cocked an eyebrow at her, "Would you like the full action replay now, or…?"

"Believe me, we'll get to that," she said, her voice pleasantly low, "but we have more important matters to attend to right now. For now I just need to know-"

"-her head is back in the game," cut in Shinji as he quickly redressed back in his normal clothes, "I've made sure of that." He paused as he pulled a boot on, "Strange…in the end I think I might have even helped myself just a little."

Aria merely inclined her head, "Well that's good to hear…" she then turned and headed for the door, Shinji falling into step alongside her, "I hope you at least made her scream a little."

"Of course," replied Shinji obviously, "I'm your consort, aren't I? I wouldn't want to make you look bad."

Aria couldn't help but smile just a little, but otherwise made no comment…

-Ω-

EDEN was stood motionless, staring at the galaxy map in silence when Shinji entered the CIC.

Kasumi was also there, her hands on the railing surrounding the holographic display as she idly watched the image rotate in front of her.

Shinji stopped by the thief and looked back at the AI platform, "What's she doing?" he asked Kasumi.

Kasumi glanced back over at EDEN, "Processing, cross-referencing, triangulating… words to that effect. She asked not to be disturbed. I can respect that."

Shinji nodded, then looked closer at her, "You look a little tired…"

She sighed and turned her attention back to the map, "I didn't get as much sleep as I would've liked."

Shinji cocked his head, "You're the one who wanted to borrow my bed, everything that goes with it…"

"Your bed comes complete with naked pirates?"

"More often than not. But don't worry, that part came free of charge."

"Well that's something at least," she sighed.

"You know you loved it," murmured Aria.

"Can you _please_ change your topic of conversation, "snapped EDEN, turning her head to look at them irritably.

"Sorry, EDEN," said Shinji, "How's the hangover?"

"It was getting in my way. I deleted it."

"Lucky for some," he commented "but now that I've got your attention, just what are you doing?"

"I'm analysing the information from the Omnitools you provided, going back over data and accessing various shipping records and communications logs from various companies. I'm looking for common denominators."

"Anything yet?" asked Aria.

EDEN's focus was once more ahead and Shinji could see from where he stood the gentle golden glow in her green eyes as she processed information, " Based on all the available data, cross-referencing across all available sources and utilising every lead we have along with just a few of my hunches-"

"-Your _'hunches'_?" echoed Aria.

"Does it surprise you, Aria, that a machine would have a gut instinct?" asked EDEN.

"Not really, I suppose. If anything I know for a fact just how devious and cunning you really can be."

Shinji noticed that EDEN seemed mildly unnerved by the comment, as if Aria had implied something that not everybody in the room had been meant to understand, "I'll take that as a compliment," said the platform after that brief pause.

"If that's how you'd like to see it…"

EDEN coughed to return attention to the matter at hand, "I've narrowed down the possible locations of our culprits to several locations. The first…"

A single system was highlighted on the map, which then zoomed in until a blue planet hung rotating slowly above the projector, "Trident:" intoned the AI, "Primarily a human colony, there were several ties to Scolex shipping, plus I have confirmed this world as being the origin point for the weapons utilised by the assassination squad."

"No," said Aria, "they wouldn't establish a base of operations on the same planet they sourced their equipment."

Garrus nodded, "Plus, setting up an operation on planet already rife with gangs and corruption could only be hindering. What's next?"

EDEN nodded and the map zoomed out, rotated, and then focused in on another planet, "Illium?" asked Tisala somewhat disbelievingly, "You think she's hiding in plain sight, on one of the galaxy's largest shipping hubs?"

"It's a valid strategy that I would not discount."

"I suppose that is the sort of plan you would come up with," said Shinji.

EDEN glanced at him, the makings of a smile briefly appearing on her face before Aria spoke up, "No. I have far too many spies on Illium for something this big to pass unnoticed; one of them would have made the connection independently by now and fed it back to me. However-"

"-No, you're right, Aria," cut in Shinji suddenly, "It's not there…"

EDEN looked at him, "Shinji-kun, I understand your wish to agree with her but…"

Shinji cut in once more with a shake of his head, "It's not that. Whoever's behind all this is keeping their head down; they're hiding in the darkness. They're using shadows and even going so far as to hide their sacrificial pawns behind closed doors. They're not going to put a major staging post on Illium, where the authorities might intervene should word be leaked to the right ears."

Shinji frowned as he thought, "EDEN, Eliminate all other planets that exist on any major shipping line, as well as any asari colonies, and anything with a population higher than say…two hundred and fifty thousand. No, whoever's behind all this is staying very out of the way. They'll be avoiding any worlds Aria might have a particularly strong foothold on, and also it will have to be somewhere they can establish a strong presence due to little local interference."

Aria thought on it for a second and nodded, "Go with it. Find the muggiest little backwater that you've got even the slightest leads on; something that sticks out and something that isn't just another relay point."

Garrus nodded in agreement, "Yes, something that _looks_ like a dead end…"

EDEN closed her eyes. They flicked open a second later. The galaxy map rapidly reoriented, bringing up a small grey/green orb in the centre of the screen.

"This is the only world that fits all criteria. It was the end point of three transmissions for which I can find no explanation nor reason for being sent there. Two were from Mala, the first being several weeks ago, the second just a few days before our incursion into his compound. The third originated from the turian Leran on the same day he attempted his takeover of Omega."

"Gellix…" read Shinji from the display as the green planet rotated slowly above the projection matrix.

EDEN nodded, "The planet formerly held an Eclipse base, but the group were evicted and their base hijacked and repurposed into a research facility by Cerberus. It would stand to reason that any smuggling routes and holes in whatever immigration controls the planet has would still be valid."

Shinji nodded, "Two of the assassins were Eclipse, and sisters. It seems improbable that someone would pick two assassins living on two different planets who just happened to be sisters, not unless the person who hired them had a former affiliation to both."

"We're going on assumptions and educated guesses, but it makes sense if you're right," said Garrus, "My people have been trying to offload that rock for decades on any tenant who will take it. It's unlikely therefore that the military would go to any real expense in order to monitor and police the planet.

"I also know that after unknowingly letting Cerberus set up a base there, the world is seen as an embarrassment that the turian military would no doubt like soon to forget."

Tisala spoke up as she slowly circled the floating image, "An unguarded, out of the way world whose smuggling routes you know, with a facility that you know would be empty and waiting for you, even if said facility will have long been stripped of anything useful by now. And the turians probably wouldn't have even gone out of their way to flatten the place yet…"

Shinji nodded, "And if it's someone who really does have something against Aria, is there anything more fitting than working out of an old Cerberus facility?"

EDEN spoke up once more, "I've also done a quick sweep for any mention of the planet on some of the more shadowy message boards. I'm seeing hundreds of mentions of positions linked to this planet for unaligned mercenary groups and personnel with combat training. Most of these are being passed by electronic word of mouth and via aliases, but it is clear that it's all related. I didn't notice the link until I searched for it specifically."

"Somebody's been buying up muscle," said Aria, turning to Tisala, "That's our target. Take us there and send a message back to Omega while you're at it.

"Get Moran to meet us with the Elbrus and as much man and firepower as he can muster. If we're right about this, I want to be ready, and I'm not waiting any longer to get this situation resolved. I think our enemy has had quite enough time to gather their forces without us giving them even more."

"Yes, Aria," she replied, and went off to carry out her orders.

"We might be facing indoctrinated forces…" Garrus commented.

Aria's attention flicked to him, "What of it? When a merc takes a job, they know they're throwing in their lot with their employer and everything that goes with it."

"That's not what I mean," replied the turian, "You know as well as I do that, depending on the level of indoctrination, a soldier can range from being merely difficult to convince to surrender, to a mindless drone that will not stop fighting no matter how much damage you do until you put them down permanently."

"What, do you think my conscience will get in my way?" asked Aria dryly.

"No, I'm just saying that I hope you're ready, because this could end up being a very messy fight."

"Well it's lucky for you that those are the sort I'm best at," shot back Aria with her usual sardonic tone.

Shinji looked up out of a nearby viewing port as the stars suddenly gave way to streaks of blue as the ship initiated the jump to FTL, "We're on our way…" he murmured.

EDEN nodded, her attention being drawn away when she sensed the tightbeam message being forwarded back to Omega. She analysed it as it passed through her systems. She left it mostly as it was before allowing it to be sent on…_mostly_.

EDEN wanted the talons to bring something else along with them, just in case the situation called for it. The AI was forced to consider the possibility that she might have to advance the project to the next phase somewhat earlier than intended…

-Ω-

Aria's patience was starting to wear thin as she fought the urge to pace the width of the bridge. She leaned back against the bulkhead, gaze flicking to the planet that hung in the distance. The Thunder Child floated in silent running as EDEN continued her scans of the planet.

"What's wrong?" asked Shinji, not turning about from his position in the co-pilot's seat.

Aria looked sidelong at him, "Why would anything be wrong."

"You're brooding."

"I'm always brooding."

"True, but you try not to when I'm around, that means something's really annoying you."

Aria's brow furrowed with irritation and pointedly turned her attention away to the bulkhead opposite, "Moran is late…"

Shinji shifted about in his seat to look at her, "Well you did ask him to gather an entire assault force and then fly all the way out here. That takes time. The last update said he'd finished assembling his forces and was just gathering equipment. I'm sure he'll be here soon and that he _would_ update us if the radio silence weren't necessary."

Aria pushed off the bulkhead and began to pace the cockpit before catching herself. She turned and dropped down into the currently empty pilot's seat, "It shouldn't have taken him this long."

Shinji shrugged and turned to face forwards again, "I don't know…I've kind of enjoyed the peace and quiet."

"You would…" she grumbled

Shinji was about to respond, however EDEN's voice filling the cockpit drew their attention away, "I've completed my scans and also my analysis of the sensor records from Anapondus' main traffic control centre."

Aria looked to the hologram by the pilot's chair, standing up to let Tisala take her station as she entered the cockpit, "Anything interesting?" she asked.

"There could be…" replied the AI, "There have been numerous reports of unidentified sensor contacts entering the atmosphere over the past few weeks. Never more than one at a time, but there is a definitive pattern of one unknown ship arriving per day followed by one of the previous unknown ships leaving."

"Can you identify any of the ships?" asked Shinji.

"No, I'm limited to the data available and needless to say, the accuracy of the records kept is lacklustre to say the least."

"You mean they just didn't care enough to bother looking into it," muttered Aria.

"That seems quite likely."

"Input, process, output…" murmured Shinji.

"Shinji?" asked EDEN.

He shook his head, "It's nothing, just had a slightly…nasty suspicion. Were any of those ships armed?"

"No data exists," replied the AI, "Why do you ask?"

Shinji regarded the planet below, "Like I said: It's probably nothing, but there's something about this I really don't like…"

"I hate it when you humans say that," said Aria, "It usually ends up with something exploding in my face."

EDEN spoke up once more, "Proximity alert. A ship has just exited the relay and is holding position out of sensor range from the planet. I've confirmed it as being the Elbrus. I'm summoning the command staff to the bridge."

"Open a secure channel to the Elbrus," ordered Aria, glancing back at the communications officer.

She nodded an affirmative and the battle-scarred face of the talon commander appeared above the display a second later, "Aria…" he intoned.

"You're late, Moran. It's not like you to keep me waiting," said Aria as EDEN's platform approached the cockpit.

The turian grumbled disgruntledly before refocusing on Aria, "Well you're the one who ordered us to bring that _thing _with us. It wasn't exactly easy to organise," he looked off to the side, "and my men weren't exactly happy with having it on board either."

Aria frowned, "What are you talking about?"

"The _EVA_," he clarified, "You ordered us to stow it in the cargo bay. It took two days just to gather the equipment needed to move the damned thing."

Aria's expression darkened, "A _moment, _if you please…" she said tersely.

"Aria?" asked Janus, an instant before she cut him off.

Aria kept her eyes locked on the now empty display as she spoke in a low, very warning tone, "Did you do this?"

EDEN knew when she was being addressed, "I did."

"B-but why would you bring Unit-01?" asked Shinji, confused.

"Because with both the Elbrus and what I must assume to be a large majority of the talon and other mercenary forces removed from Omega, there is a chance the EVA could be vulnerable. I just thought it was wiser to have it where we can see it, especially when you consider that it's probably one of our enemy's objectives."

The explanation seemed reasonable enough to Shinji, but he observed that for some reason it appeared anything but for Aria. If anything, the asari seemed to simmer momentarily with barely contained anger, "Okay, something's going on here that I don't understand…" said Shinji, glancing between the pair.

Shinji heard the asari's knuckles crack at her sides and she drew her hand back up to reinitiate the link, "Are our forces ready, Moran?"

"Ready and eager. They're getting paid overtime for this, after all. Just say the word."

Aria nodded and turned to Tisala, "Have you completed tactical analysis?"

She nodded and manipulated some controls, bringing up a representation of the base on the display by her chair and also feeding it through to the Elbrus, "It looks like the facility has been restored to at least partial working order," the image zoomed in on some raised sections around the base, "Most notable is the fact that at least one of the AA guns has been rebuilt and reactivated."

Garrus stepped over from his console to examine the image, "Our kinetic barriers can't withstand that kind of firepower for any prolonged period. We'll be cut down before we can even line up with the base's docking facility, never mind surviving long enough to begin an actual assault."

"The Elbrus on the other hand," cut in Janus, "Should be able to take a pummelling long enough to cut those guns to pieces."

Tisala nodded, "My thoughts exactly. The targeting sensors on those installations will have the same approximate range as ours, meaning we'll be in range of each other at almost precisely the same moment."

"But wont we be in stealth mode?" asked Shinji.

She shook her head, "Entering the atmosphere will light us up as clear as day, and considering we'll be forced into using the same approach runs they do in order to avoid the authorities, the chances are that those skies will be closely monitored by our enemies."

"What about just bombarding them from orbit?" asked Aria.

Janus shook his head, "Unwise. That will be detected a mile off, and while the turian government may not be overly fond of this world, they will nonetheless still take serious offence to a Terminus ship firing on its surface to resolve a vendetta."

"Plus, we don't know if this is the last link in the chain," said Tisala, "best not to shatter that link before we get to see if there's another to follow."

Aria inclined her head, accepting the logic, "So what's the plan?"

"It's quite straightforward really," said the other asari, "We transfer over to the Elbrus and take out the aerial defences as soon as we're in range. From there, we dock-"

"-and swamp them with pure numbers, "cut in Aria, "I like this plan, it keeps things simple; far less room for things to go wrong."

"We'll get ready and move in to dock with you," said Tisala to Janus, "Prepare your forces for full ground assault. I'm transmitting the plans over to you now. Have them dispersed to your lieutenants. I'll leave on-site command of the troops up to you."

Janus nodded, "We'll be ready to attack in less than an hour."

"Good," said Aria, "Then let's start getting ready…"

-Ω-

The first thing Shinji noted about the Elbrus was how big it was.

It was difficult to judge scale whilst in space, but considering the talons had an Evangelion laid face-down lengthwise in their main cargo bay with room to spare, the ship had to be on the large side by anybody's standards.

Unit-01 herself was covered with a giant tarpaulin which was fixed into place at various intervals. Shinji wasn't sure if this was for safety in case of turbulence, or if it was just so the Omega forces didn't have to look at it directly. He suspected that it was a little of column A and more than a little of column B, as he noted the amassed forces giving it a pointedly wide berth and more than a few were giving the construct wary glares.

Shinji was sat atop the EVA's exposed index finger, surveying the various mercenaries. They were a varied mix of turians, krogans, asari, batarians and humans.

His attention was pulled away when Aria approached, "They're afraid of it…" he mumbled, "They're trying to pretend they're okay, but I can see it."

"Can you blame them?" she asked, looking about at her assembled force, "Most of them have never even seen it before. Even though it supposedly doesn't-"

"-It _doesn't _work," cut in Shinji a little more irritably than intended.

"-yes, of course, "agreed Aria, correcting herself, which Shinji found momentarily odd in that she rarely admitted fault in public, "but even then, it still has an…_aura_ about it," she finished, glancing up at the covered shape.

"You're starting to sound superstitious…" mused Shinji, watching as one of the four Atlas mechs they'd brought moved into position by the airlock alongside its counterparts.

Though his focus was ahead, Shinji was aware of Aria as she sat herself down by his side and then went about checking her armaments.

Aria looked to him, then back at the troops, "Superstitious, hardly…Though I do listen to my gut when it tells me something."

Shinji's brow knitted into a frown, "My brain tells me we should just destroy the EVA, but every time I even contemplate it I just get this sick feeling; like I've just thought about sawing off my own leg at the kneecap."

"Sounds unpleasant..." commented Aria as she finished examining her pistol and put it away. She then moved on to slotting a fresh thermal clip into her shotgun before locking it into place. The weapon gave off a mechanical whine as it armed itself. Rather than put it away, she set it down atop her lap, ready for use.

There was a juddering as the smoothness of the vacuum gave way to turbulence as the Elbrus entered the atmosphere.

"You ready?" she asked.

Shinji reached back and pulled free his M-77, conscious of the weight of the M-4 Shuriken now occupying the other holster on his back. The weapon had been thrust upon him by a Krogan, one who he recognised as being one of Aria's personal bodyguards from Afterlife. When Shinji had kindly insisted that he had enough in the way of guns with his single sidearm, the Krogan had said, in as sagely a way as was possible for a pirate mercenary with a slight speech impediment: 'Lishen, human: On Omega, there 'aint a shingle problem shtarted with one gun that can't be ended with two…' Shinji still had no idea that meant, but in the absence of a decent retort he'd been forced to accept the firearm without further question.

"Are you nervous?" Aria suddenly asked.

"Hm?" he asked, looking back at her. He then turned his attention to the same mercenaries she was observing, "I'd be more nervous if I wasn't here," he said, his eyes searching out the few familiar faces in the crowd. Most of the group were dressed in varying kinds and colours of armour. The only uniformity was with the talons in their reds and blacks and with the dark greens and blues of the asari commandos, the rest being a mish-mash of various differing gang colours.

The groups seemed to be keeping to themselves. Shinji spotted Blue Suns, Blood Pack and Eclipse mercs also.

While the groups were officially united under Aria's command, albeit paid to do so, they still seemed to prefer remaining in their individual groups as much as possible. Most were milling about talking, examining their weapons or just slouched against walls and storage crates, waiting impatiently. Shinji spied Tisala, who was dressed in midnight blue commando leathers, an assault rifle hanging loosely her hands she talked to Janus.

Garrus appeared to be helping a talon modify the sight on his rifle and Kasumi was nowhere to be seen, but Shinji knew that didn't necessarily mean she wasn't out there somewhere.

He saw Tara busy making adjustments to one of the Atlas' legs. A shotgun and a pistol were clipped to her back and what seemed to be a dagger strapped to her right boot.

He then looked to EDEN, who had armed herself with a pair of heavy pistols and had been even more silent than usual since entering the bay.

Everybody seemed to be ready…

"No…" continued Shinji, "There was once a time when my sitting back whilst someone dear to me did all the fighting almost cost me that person. Most of the people that I care about in my life are in this room. I'd be more scared not being here to help."

"Making sure it's done right by doing it yourself, huh?" mused Aria, "I suppose I can get behind that."

"Well for all we know this might just be a bust and-" Shinji was cut off as a deafening crash rocked the ship to one side, "Or not…"

As if a switch was flicked, the entire amassed forces snapped to attention and began readying themselves to attack as the pounding of AA ordinance jarred the Elbrus repeatedly.

There was a series of subtle thuds that Shinji could feel through his feet, "We've opened fire," murmured Aria, glancing up.

Suddenly, everything went eerily quiet. The only sounds were the gentle hum of the Elbrus' antigravs and the air whistling by outside.

The ground defences had been silenced.

"Alright," announced Aria suddenly, "You've all been given your instructions. There's even a nice little bonus in it for whichever one of you who brings me the fucker in charge down there. Everybody else, _well, _you just feel free to cut loose and enjoy yourselves…"

There were murmured chuckles as the ship shunted slightly, it's mooring clamps locking forcefully onto the dock outside, "Somebody out there is trying to fuck with Omega," continued Aria as the side airlock opened to a blaze of heat and fresh air. The Atlas units began to advance, "Let's go show them what that means…"

The mercenary force took that as their cue and roared their battle-cry, pouring out of the aperture and into the fray as an eruption of gunfire echoed from outside.

"So, they were waiting for us," remarked Aria as she brought her weapon up and followed calmly after the troops, "Looks like we have a winner…"

-Ω-

Shinji stayed low, running down into cover behind a crate on the dock. Several ramps fed down into a large open area dotted with small storage buildings.

A series of ramps on the opposite side led up to the main building that occupied the far corner. Shinji ducked down again as an explosion rocked the ground nearby, spraying him with dirt and rubble.

Aria hadn't been wrong, they had indeed been waiting. Dozens swarmed out from the various smaller buildings and hundreds from the main base, charging fearlessly down into the courtyard to meet the invaders.

The asari were already forming barriers to help fend off the hail of bullets coming from the turrets set up along the various rooftops.

Shinji's assigned job was basically just to 'stick with Aria and shoot at things', a job which he was relatively sure he could get his head around.

He levelled his pistol above the barricade and opened fire on the turrets that were working to lay down suppressing fire and help the defending forces push ahead. Aria was busy picking off any enemies who got through their defensive line whilst blasting back the main enemy group with biotic strikes.

They were certainly outnumbered, not quite two to one, but it was clear to Shinji that their assumption of numerical superiority had been quite wrong.

Shinji's next shot cut through one of the turret's tripod legs and sent it falling backwards from its podium, inadvertently releasing a stream of shots into the forces it was meant to be defending before going silent.

Shinji paused to briefly think on the line of people he'd just indirectly killed. He couldn't be sure if they'd been indoctrinated or not, but he considered that as they were mercenaries, they'd have most likely killed him if they'd gotten half a chance regardless of mind control.

As the last of the turrets fell silent, Shinji pushed forward, running to the base of the ramp and back into cover. He was aware of Aria by his side, her shotgun cutting through with far more efficiency as she closed the range between her and her enemies.

Aria staggered as a sniper round impacted her breastplate, knocking her backward. By the time Shinji could even react she had already flipped herself back up, and did not look happy, "Have one back, you fuckers!" she growled, and released a biotic flare right into the centre of the enemy mass.

The ground shook from the force slightly and both bodies and body parts were hurled clear in all directions.

She was forced to duck down as the corner of the crate by her head exploded; another near miss by the sniper. "I'm starting to think someone out there really doesn't like you!" shouted Shinji as he fired three quick shots over the barrier and three armoured figures found themselves exploding into icy shards. Two more enemies beyond evaporated into flame as they were caught up in the spray from Aria's shotgun.

"I don't remember combat being this loud!" he shouted, replacing his thermal clip and opening fire on a pair of humans in light grey armour.

"Question," said Aria calmly, not taking her eyes off the enemy as she took down three more.

"What is it?"

"I'm using incendiary rounds, you're using cryo..."

"What of it?"

"Stop it, it's counterproductive."

"I only like them because they don't smell as bad as burning flesh. Plus, you don't get any mess so long as you sweep up the bits before the ice melts."

Aria glanced at him, not needing to look as she batted a turian trying to charge her into a nearby wall with her biotics, "This is what you think about?"

He cocked his head, "Kind of…"

Shinji spied Garrus near Moran, the pair cutting through enemies with waves of fire from their assault rifles.

He noted that most of the enemy fire was focused on trying to suppress the four mechs wading through the fray, massacring them indiscriminately as they went. So far they had only succeeded in bringing down one of the four units.

The Omega forces were working to box in the courtyard and then slice inwards, but enemy troops seemed to be appearing out of nowhere.

Shinji pushed ahead, splitting briefly from Aria to go round opposite sides of an armament building.

Suddenly, Shinji was struck to the ground from the side, his sidearm knocked from his hand and out of reach.

A human with black, greasy hair and vacant eyes loomed over him, a knife raised, "Only need the body…" he murmured, "Just…the body…"

Shinji's hand whipped round his back and tore free his machine pistol just as the man made to lunge. A line of bullets tore upward from the brainwashed man's groin right up the length of his torso, the final shot punching through his lip and tearing the side of his face open.

Shinji rolled away as the man slumped to the ground. The young human then stood back up, wiping the blood from his face. He turned away and bent down to retrieve his pistol and set the other away, "Remind me to thank-" his lament was cut short however as something threw itself onto his back. Already half-crouched, Shinji was forced face-first to the ground.

Shinji braced his hands flat and barely managed to flip himself over, only to come face-to-eviscerated face with the knife wielding assailant. He was bleeding profusely from where the bullet had ripped through his tongue and out the side of his cheek, as well as from the line of shots up his body. Shinji wasn't sure how the man was getting himself to move, but he knew physical death would overtake the indoctrinated man in seconds regardless.

The mutilated human gargled incoherently, and Shinji forced his face away with a palm under the chin.

The Third Child reared back and readied to kick. Suddenly, there was a feeling like a sharp punch and a dull aching sensation began spreading across his Shinji's torso. He kicked upwards just as the man went limp, hurling the fresh corpse away.

Shinji staggered to his feet. The world seemed to swim as he looked down at the hilt firmly embedded in his lower right torso. His right leg gave way under him, palm sliding down the wall he'd been bracing against.

'_Missed the organs,' _his brain fed back as he groaned in agony, '_femoral artery has been severed though…'_

Shinji momentarily cursed the medical knowledge in his head. That same knowledge was now screaming at him not to simply pull the blade out.

But he had to pull it out…

'_I'll bleed to death in seconds if I pull that out…'_

But he _had _to pull it out...

He had to remove the obstruction; he _had_ to let the healing begin...

Of its own accord, Shinji's right hand coiled around the grip of the dagger. He bit his lip, but couldn't stop the cry of agony that was torn from the depths of his throat as he pulled the blade free.

An eruption of something warm and slightly viscous coated his fingers and Shinji felt the heat rapidly drain from his body.

'_This is it, I'm dead…'_

He felt consciousness begin to fade, and he began to murmur someone's name, only for him to realise something a moment later:

The bleeding had stopped.

Shinji looked down through teary, unfocused eyes. He was sitting in a large pool of his own blood, barely conscious. There was still a nasty gash on his chest where the knife had slipped between armour plates, but it was merely oozing a small stream of blood now, as if the fatal wound were nothing more than a paper cut. He noted that the gem on his right arm seemed to pulse with almost loving warmth, though that could've just been an illusion due to the chill in all of his extremities.

Shinji staggered back to his feet, gun held loosely in one hand. He slipped slightly in the crimson pool, staggering. Suddenly, his hand went to his head as a wave of dizziness and nausea assaulted him.

Shinji's ears were ringing and the world about him seemed like a blurred, waking dream as his consciousness waned. He dimly registered explosions, the ground shaking underfoot, and the roar of orders somewhere nearby. He staggered forward step by step around the corner.

-Ω-

Aria dropped the corpse of the human woman whose neck she'd just snapped and fired off three rounds in quick succession with her pistol at some nearby targets of opportunity.

She sighted Shinji as he approached, "I was wondering where you'd gone. Please try not to get lost," she frowned, seeing his bloodied appearance, "_Well_…who got on the wrong side of you?"

"Actually…" he mumbled, a hand covering part of his chest as he staggered up to her, "Most of it…s'mine…" he slurred, and Aria's eyes widened just as he collapsed forward and into her arms with a long, drawn out groan.

"Shinji!" Aria shouted, only then seeing where his hand was covering and slowly moved the limb aside. She then saw the wound that ran so very deep inside her future bondmate's body. She did her best not to show any distress, she wasn't sure if she succeeded or not. She then looked up and about herself, "Can I get a fucking medic over here?"

EDEN jumped down from a nearby rooftop and sprinted over, skidding to her knees by the injured human. Her link to Shinji's Omnitool had kept her abreast of his vitals. When the alert flared up she hadn't been slow off the mark to say the least.

"He's been stabbed," said EDEN hastily, her eyes tracing his prone form.

"I _noticed!_"

EDEN's eyes flicked left and right as she processed information, "The major artery has already regenerated but he's lost a dangerous amount of blood." She quickly applied some Medi-Gel to the wound, sealing it up.

"It _regenerated?_"

"I've no time to explain just now. Shinji-kun!" she snapped, slapping his cheek lightly, "I need you-"

"-need me to stay awake," he groaned, "don't want to slip into a coma. I know…"

EDEN scooped her arms under him and then stood back up, carrying him, "We've greatly underestimated the size of the enemy force. I predict at least a seventy per cent chance that this battle will be lost within the hour."

"You expect me to retreat?"

"No, I don't expect anything of the sort," she then began walking away.

Aria's hand shot out to grab her arm, "Where are you taking him?"

EDEN glanced back out the corner of her eye at her, shrugging free "Back to the Elbrus…" and then she started walking again.

"Oh, so _you're_ retreating?"

EDEN paused and looked back. There was an almost dark look in her eyes, "No, Aria. I'll be _right back_…" after a pause, almost fearful understanding registered itself in Aria's expression. EDEN carried on walking, "Oh, and try not to die in the interim. Shinji-kun would be most upset if you did."

-Ω-

It was with extreme reluctance that Jona altered the aim of her sniper scope from Aria's head to follow EDEN as she carried away their prime objective.

The pirate had discovered the Scolex link just as Jona thought she might, and therefore it was logical to conclude that she would eventually track her back here. But they'd had more than enough time to recruit the necessary forces in the intervening period. This small portion alone had been enough it seemed to swamp Aria's assault completely. She hadn't needed to call in a single ship as backup either. In truth, Jona was almost disappointed…almost.

Jona had been about to depart in her own shuttle and re-join the main body of her forces when she'd spied the one that she knew she had to acquire accompanying Aria.

The former Eclipse leader observed in silence as the android retreated up the ramps to the docking area. Her scope zoomed in on the open aperture on the side. It focused in on the large shape waiting within.

Suddenly, Jona winced. The whispering in her head became almost deafening for a moment until she was filled with the unshakable, undeniable urge to take that ship from Aria.

The former Eclipse leader stood up from her hiding place in the facility's control room. Her eyes traced the view from the window, surveying the immediate area at the bottom of the ramp leading down to the courtyard.

She was alone in the building now, the rest of her forces already down and fighting. And so the Atlas that walked slowly past the ramp and turned to regard the battle and offer supporting fire had no idea of her presence up above, as its pilot too thought the structure deserted.

Jona slipped out of the room and dashed down the ramp, her feet barely making any noise as she ran and sprung up, landing atop of the mech from behind.

The Atlas jerked, the entire top section swerving left and right as the pilot attempted to catch sight of whatever it was that had jolted it.

The asari prowled over the top and pressed her hands flat on the canopy. She felt her biotics flood through the strange amplifier embedded at the base of her skull, the amplifier that the voices had taught her how to build. She hadn't resisted much when she'd felt the sheer scale of increase in power that it had yielded, even if it did make those whispers so much louder as a result.

There was a stab of pain in Jona's head that she ignored as she wrapped the canopy in a film of dark energy and began tearing it open as the machine thrashed about. She then reversed the flow, focusing it down upon the turian pilot inside, pulverising bone, armour and organs alike in a flash.

The asari then slid nimbly inside and pulled the hood closed once more.

After signalling some of her people nearer the Elbrus, Jona righted the mech and drove it through the oblivious Omega forces, cutting down some of her own soldiers just for effect.

Jona brought the mech up to the ramp, pivoting round to fire into the crowd once more, uncaring of who she might be hitting.

Only when she was within the line of guards' effective range did she cut loose with a single shot from her rocket launcher, shattering both man and barricade in a deafening explosion. From behind her, a boarding party of more than two dozen funnelled up the ramps and followed her on board the Cerberus warship.

-Ω-

EDEN strode into the bay, eyes ahead, the sound of explosions and gunfire echoing in from outside, "Keep talking, Shinji-kun..."

"I know, I know…" he murmured both sleepily and irritably, "About what?"

"I don't know. Who did you like best, Asuka…or Misato?"

"Neither," he grumbled, "I liked Pen-Pen. He at least had clever things to say occasionally, even if he did drink way too much beer for a penguin. Though I'm pretty sure now that any beer is bad for penguins…In retrospect, Misato was a terrible pet owner."

EDEN chuckled, "Yes, yes I suppose I was…"

Shinji grumbled incoherently before speaking again, "You're not Misato…"

"No, no I'm not," EDEN whispered, ducking under the cover and hopping up the EVA's arm and then atop the shoulder.

The AI smiled weakly "I'm just a fake, a fraudulent copy of two people long dead…I am a lie."

Her right eye blinked and the EVA's neck section slid forwards, the entry plug coming free with a hiss of hydraulics. Shinji looked out through one barely open eye, "U-Unit-01? EDEN, wh-what are you doing?"

She set him gently down in the pilot's seat and brushed his hair tenderly back, "Just putting you somewhere safe. Now…_look at me_, Shinji-kun," commanded EDEN, seeing him slipping. Shinji's brow scrunched in irritation and looked up into her now brown eyes, "I need you to do something for me, something very important…"

"What is it?" he muttered.

"Can you feel the EVA? Can you feel it all about you?"

He nodded slowly.

"Good, I want you to link with it, just like you did when you extracted my data from the core, and I don't want you to let go. Can you do that for me?"

Shinji's brow furrowed in confusion but he nodded regardless.

EDEN saw the gems on his wrists start to glow subtly, "Good boy. Now, I want you to do something else, something far more important and so much harder."

"W-what?"

She reached out to gently brush his cheek, "I want you to believe in me. I want you to believe…a lie.

"I want you to remember that feeling of being joined with your mother's heart in the EVA. I want you to remember Misato's voice on your back, following you into battle; that voice I know you always trusted to get you through. I want you to believe in them both…just one last time." Her expression saddened as her voice dropped to a whisper, "And if you can ever find it in your heart," she said, leaning forward and kissing him once on the forehead, "I'd like it very much if you could please not hate me…"

She then pulled away and hopped back as the entry plug locked back into place.

Resigned, EDEN turned about and began descending once more, speaking as she went, "Core resonance confirmed. Interface active, unpacking neural data from secure archive…"

EDEN ducked back under the covering and took a few steps into the open. An instant later, before she could even utter another word, a hail of shots from a mass accelerator cannon tore up the bay floor towards her and blasted her left leg away from the knee downwards.

EDEN screamed and there was a spray of viscous, neon blue liquid before she collapsed onto her back as the Atlas approached.

EDEN wanted to kill her internal nerve impulses, but she couldn't, she needed them to be active; she needed to be human for this to work…

Another scream was tore from her mouth as the Atlas' metallic foot came down on the injured part of her leg and crushed her exposed innards and nerve endings against the deck plating. The entire mech shifted as it grinded her down for emphasis.

The MAGI bit down on her lip, tears streaming from her eyes. She focused on her words, even as the canopy of the Atlas above opened and the asari within looked down upon her with sadistic enjoyment, "_Switching_…synchronization circuits…to Side B," sobbed EDEN.

"So, _this_ is Aria's last line of defence…" droned the asari as her forces took up defensive positions.

She hopped down from the mech and onto EDEN's chest, "How did Jona Sederis ever come second to Aria T'Loak, if _this_ is the best she can come up with…"

EDEN gritted her teeth, her chest heaving, "Initiating first stage connection…"

"Sorry about the leg by the way," Jona intoned, gently cupping the AI's chin and tilting it to the side, as if examining a bit of property, "I'd been intending to keep you around as a plaything when all this was over, but I suppose my trigger finger just got a little too excited," her smile melted, "Now where is he?"

EDEN's brow furrowed, as if straining against something unseen, "Please, work with me a little here, Shinji-kun…"

Jona smiled sardonically, "Do I really need to grind you into pieces before you talk?"

To make her point, Jona's hand drifted down to the prone MAGI's own right hand, tenderly caressing a single finger. The asari's hand then glowed with biotic power and she forced the finger backward until the metallic bone audibly snapped and tore through the flesh of the android's hand.

EDEN's eyes went wide, a high pitched squeak coming from her throat, "Absolute borderline…in five seconds…"

Jona sighed and sat back on the platform's chest, "I suppose this may take some time, but I really can't believe Aria let it come down to this. She knows the rule when it comes to mercenaries better than anyone: When it comes to the end, all that matters is who in the room has the biggest gun. And she left _you_."

"An interesting philosophy," said EDEN suddenly, the pain gone from her voice, her irises now a disturbing shade of glittering red, "Permit me to subscribe to it for a moment…"

With a blur of motion and an ear-splitting crash, the Atlas pinning EDEN to the floor suddenly found itself punched flat into the wall by a giant, armoured fist.

Jona had ducked down on reflex but gasped as EDEN's hand shot up and clamped around her throat.

The giant fist pulled back, unfurled itself and then braced the palm flat against the deck.

There was a series of twangs as the lines holding the giant sheet in place began to snap upwards one by one.

Jona's eyes widened in terror as the white fabric slid free and Evangelion Unit-01 turned its head smoothly about to look right at her.

"I'm sorry, Jona Sederis…" said EDEN, briefly pulling the asari's attention to her, "but mine's bigger…"

-Ω-

_To be continued…_

[A/N] Huh, yeah, so that just happened. This was indeed a long one even by my standards as there really was a lot to accomplish, may be a few minor errors but law of averages states that might happen when you reach toward 20 thousand words. I was actually very tempted to split this into a part one and two to get it at least partially released a bit earlier, but since I'm going travelling next week, meaning the next instalment may be delayed by a week or so, I thought I'd leave you with a decent helping to digest, at least I didn't end this one on a cl…hmmm…never mind…see you next time! *runs for the door*

Catch you in Chapter 23: The Beast III


	23. Chapter 23: The Beast III

Version 1.01: One minor correction.

[A/N] Ahh, back from a break and back to work. Hope this didn't come out too late after my return, did sort of leave things hanging just a tad back there. Been informed this fic now has a tropes page, go figure. Some interesting theories IM'd and left in reviews, some were close, some off the mark. I am a little intrigued about how much suspicion there is around EDEN's actions, but saying more to counter or confirm would be spoilerific. Anyhoo, I've kept you all hanging long enough. Onwards!

**Chapter 23: The Beast III**

Jona snapped herself out of her terrified revere and, with a snarl, slammed her elbow down on the small of EDEN's arm in an attempt to loosen the hand gripping her throat.

EDEN didn't flinch. The asari let out a choked gargle as the fist tightened in response, cutting off her air flow.

Jona gritted her teeth as her body began to pulse with dark energy.

EDEN's brow suddenly furrowed as she found her attention drawn back to her captive. Jona began to snarl, a low growl coming from her throat as she began violently pouring out kinetic force around herself, forcing the android's grip slowly open inch by inch. A small trail of violet blood began leaking from the asari's nose as she poured out far more power than was safe for someone with her level of biotic talent.

EDEN was curious about the disproportionate level of power the asari was somehow putting out, but dismissed it as unimportant for now.

The MAGI decided that whilst terminating the former Eclipse leader with her bare hands might indeed be satisfying, it wasn't worth risking damage to her platform, especially when she considered that even if Jona broke free, she would still have a much larger issue to contend with immediately afterwards.

EDEN's hand flicked open and Jona sprang free, flipping herself backwards and into a defensive crouch a few feet away.

"Open fire!" she cried, only for the terrified semi-circle of mercs to completely ignore the target she was implying –the AI platform- and instead open fire on the colossal form of EVA Unit-01.

The mass accelerated rounds did manage to punch through a good number of the EVA's armor plate layers, however they didn't come close to achieving full penetration, not that they would've done any meaningful damage had they _actually_ succeeded.

A slight growl emanated from the depths of the EVA's throat as it briefly turned its attention on the attacking enemy.

Jona leaped over the purple blur that was the EVA's arm as it lashed downward at the mercenary forces, reducing them to stains on the bulkhead behind the mech's extremity.

Unit-01 pulled its arm free of the bloody indentation it had created and clenched a fist, leaning sideways to observe Jona sprint the length of the bay towards the rear airlock.

A biotically enhanced jump was the only thing that stopped the rouge asari from being pulped into the deck plating by the test type EVA's fist as it slammed into the spot she had been occupying a split-second earlier.

Jona landed with a roll and sprang straight back to her feet. Manipulating her Omnitool, she opened the airlock ahead and swung about the corner and out the aperture a second before Unit-01's lower arm slammed into the bulkheads either side of the door.

The EVA's arm pulled back, palm going to rest against the deck as EDEN stood back to her feet. A skeletal lattice of orange had spread downward from the remnants of her limb into the semblance of a prosthetic leg until she could take time out to regenerate it properly. She tested her weight on it briefly and, once satisfied it was working to an acceptable level, the AI then crossed her arms, momentarily pausing to check some additional information from the EVA.

**Screen Crawl: **Warning** Internal batteries depleted. Energy feed from Super Solenoid Organ to on-board systems stable. **

**Screen Crawl: Status of S2 Engine: Nominal, no instabilities detected.**

**Screen Crawl: Synchronization Ratio: 72.13%**

**Screen Crawl: Emotional feedback within acceptable limits. AT Field status: Not deployed.**

EDEN frowned and looked back at the EVA, "So, still not ready to trust me that much are you?"

She closed her eyes briefly to process the sensations, a small smile pulling at her lips. Shinji had once told Misato how calm and relaxed he'd felt when linked to the EVA. She could feel his mind now, so much more chaotic than her own, regardless of how close to human she was supposed to be. She could feel the mistrust in there too: he knew what she was now.

The connection was instinctual, so it wasn't like EDEN could simply send back an apology. Either way, she still liked the feeling of that still oddly innocent mind together with hers. She just prayed he would be willing to stay joined long enough for her to get them out of their current situation.

The EVA tore free the sheet over it and flicked it down to the opposite end of the bay. It then shifted to the side, revealing the closed doorway underneath, each movement shaking the entire vessel slightly.

EDEN walked forwards, her eyes going down to the deck and the closed aperture there, "Override bay door mechanism…"

There was a loud _clunk_ followed by deep groaning as the huge doors that the EVA had been initially raised through in zero-g to get on board the Elbrus began to open.

EDEN listened as the sounds of gunshots and shouting filled the bay from the open doorway, "Well I suppose I'd best go take care of this…"

-Ω-

Tisala was crouched down behind a barrier as she laid down supressing fire on the advancing forces.

Meanwhile, Aria fought to push back those climbing over the buildings to try and breach their flank. She knew by now that the rest of their forces would also be backed up into various similar defensive positions around the compound. They didn't have much time left.

"Where's Shinji?" Tisala asked, only just properly registering Aria's presence and in turn the lack of her consort's by her side.

"Injured. EDEN's taking him back to the Elbrus," she replied, focusing on her task.

Tisala glanced at her out the corner of her periphery but kept her attention ahead, "Will he be okay?"

"I don't know…" she murmured, trying to hold her focus and not shift her mind to that topic.

"For what it's worth," shouted Tisala as she cut down a pair of advancing opponents with two precisely aimed bursts from her assault rifle, "I think this is all of them!"

"Good. I'd be so sad if it turned out they outnumbered us three point six to one as opposed to just three and a half!" snapped Aria, who had been getting steadily more irritable thanks in no small part to the severe overuse of her biotics. She normally would've paced herself, but as possibly the most powerful biotic on the field, she knew that her abilities were one of the few things preventing the enemy from completely overrunning every other defensive point they had.

Aria's head was starting to pound as she fired off another shockwave to knock back half a dozen indoctrinated enemies whilst maintaining the barrier guarding their front line.

"We've got to start pushing back to the Elbrus!" shouted the former spectre, "There's no way for us to take this facility with our numbers, and they might already have reinforcements en route."

Aria gritted her teeth. She of course knew that. However she was loathed to admit that she had been so badly outmaneuvered once more.

"I'm aware of that," she admitted. She was painfully aware however that retreating would give the enemy time to get rid of whatever evidence that may be stored within the facility and also time to disappear back into the shadows once more. However she also knew that staying would most likely spell death to most of those she had convinced to follow her. "Fine…" she finally said in a low, relenting voice, "Give the order."

Tisala nodded and opened a channel to Janus, not noticing how her voice suddenly became very audible as the gunshots abruptly began to give way to silence, the roars and shouts dropping to startled murmurs.

Aria frowned as she saw the enemies running towards them stagger to a halt in the open, their wide gazes suddenly going past her.

Tisala frowned as she noticed the shadow that had fallen across the combat zone, "I didn't realize it had gotten dark so quickly, "she commented, looking up, "sunset isn't supposed to be for a few hours…" Her frown deepened as she only then registered the gaunt silence all around them.

"It's not the sun…" said Aria, a strange note in her voice, and Tisala felt her hand tap her on her shoulder.

Her confusion rising, Tisala looked to Aria, seeing her with her weapon lowered but still held in a visibly tight grip. Her eyes were locked on something off to the side.

Tisala followed her gaze.

The silence that covered the area like a blanket was suddenly cut through by a loud, horrifyingly deep _Groooan _in the very same instant the former spectre's eyes registered the hulking silhouette that now stood atop the Elbrus, its wavering shape blocking out the sun.

Despite her years of training, Tisala found herself flinching back so hard that she almost dropped her assault rifle, "By the _goddess…_" she gasped, staggering slightly.

Ally and enemy alike had halted their battle and now stood, staring up at the blackened form as it looked right back at them with large, glowing white eyes.

After a moment, there were two loud _thuds_ as the EVA stepped down from the back of the ship, one foot after the other, its head arching down to regard the silent figures below. None had their weapons raised toward it. In fact, most now had them clenched to their chests as if they were some kind of safety blanket.

"Is it on our side?" whispered Tisala, though she knew that even if Aria said yes it wouldn't make her feel much better. The EVA had been ominous enough as a still form, but the fact that it moved at all…it was _horrifying_. Tisala strongly (and rightly) guessed that the EVA had been designed to look like nothing short of a nightmare to its enemies.

And it was working.

Aria took a calming breath, controlling the tone of her voice, "I think it's under EDEN's control…make of that what you will."

The EVA stood with its legs planted either side of the ramps leading down into the courtyard. As it continued observing them in silence, EDEN emerged atop its left shoulder. She didn't need to look down herself as all the relevant visual information was being supplied by the EVA's own optical systems.

Suddenly, her voice sounded out through the EVA's external communication system, "Okay," she said, "Here's the deal: If you're with Aria, get back aboard this ship.

"To everyone else who _hasn't_ been here long enough to have all their free will sapped, or are simply here because you're being paid enough, I ask: What kind of money are you being paid? Is it _this_ kind of money?"

The EVA took a single step forwards, "I took the time to memorize the face of every mercenary and pirate that came with us, so don't think I won't be able to tell you apart if you try to get past me."

The Unit's fist clenched, "Friend or foe: This is the part where everybody runs for their lives…"

There was a pause, "You heard the lady!" snapped Aria, "Let's give her some room to work!"

Janus' voice rose out from somewhere in the crowd, "All forces, full retreat!"

Like a spell broken, the battlefield erupted into a blaze of chaos. The Omega forces stormed back toward the docking area, bashing aside any enemy in their path whilst half the enemy troops remained frozen in a trance-like state. The other half chose to take swift heed of their survival instincts and proceeded to flee in terror in the opposite direction, disappearing blindly into the forests that surrounded the base.

A moment later, like stirring zombies, the formerly frozen troops slowly brought their weapons to bear on the retreating forces.

There was a metallic straining sound just as the jaw restraints on Unit-01 snapped open. It then arched its back and let loose a deafeningly loud primal roar.

A good number of Aria's forces staggered or dived for cover on instinct before forcing themselves to keep moving, staying low as the great shadow of the EVA's leg passed over their heads as it began advancing on the indoctrinated enemy.

Their targets obstructed, most of the possessed men tried to alter their aim to other visible enemies. They may have succeeded, had Unit-01 not swung its arm down, decapitated a building and cut a swath of destruction clear through their lines.

The EVA's foot rose up, tearing through a building before lashing sideways in an arc, demolishing both people and structure indiscriminately.

Fuel tanks and munitions cases exploded within the damaged structures, bathing the mechanical beast in waves of flame. All the while EDEN stood atop her EVA's shoulder, regarding the destruction below with cold impassiveness.

Some bullets whizzed by her shoulder and EDEN immediately diverted additional power to her platform's kinetic barrier.

She watched as the remaining enemy number began to hunker down and regroup behind the rubble, stubbornly still trying to take aim on either the AI high above or upon Aria's escaping forces.

The EVA crouched down, its fingers digging into the side of a storage building. With a guttural growl, it promptly proceeded to tear the entire structure out of the earth. It then reared about and hurled it at the entrenched forces, silencing them instantly.

-Ω-

"How are things looking?" shouted Aria.

Tisala leaned about the bay doors and glanced outside, "_Well..._it's stopped stomping on them…"

Aria surveyed the numerous injured troops as the flood of men coming in reduced to a trickle, "Nearly over, is it?"

"No, now it's throwing _buildings_ at them."

"An effective strategy, I suppose…"

"Aria!" called the other asari urgently as she spotted something in the distance, "We have a problem!"

-Ω-

Unit-01's foot kicked flat into the bases main building like a child demolishing a sandcastle. The structure cracked as the EVA kicked again and again. It began to crumble under the onslaught. One final blow had the entire facility shattering into a heap down upon its foundations, no doubt crushing any unfortunate soul who'd chosen to use it as a defensive position.

With another growl, the EVA swept its foot one last time through the rubble, clearing the main courtyard and pushing the remains up into a great pile, confirming that nothing remained alive down there. Every other building in the base had been flattened also.

Nothing but death, flame and debris had been left in the wake of the Evangelion.

EDEN's brow furrowed as the Thunder Child's sensors fed back an alert. The sound of roaring engines began to resonate from nearby.

The EVA stood back up to full height, casting its gaze beyond the base just as a large, silvery streamlined craft erupted from the forest and shot by the mecha. Unit-01's head snapped left to follow it as the ship arched about in the air to begin another pass.

The AI's concern began to rise as several more sensor contacts appeared from hiding on the opposite side of the planet and tore into the atmosphere, closing rapidly on their location.

EDEN scowled and, with an unspoken command, opened the entry plug and quickly sealed herself within as the vessel closed once more.

The Evangelion reared back and readied to bat the approaching ship out of the air, only for the vessel to alter course at the last second and pass again, this was not however before firing out a single mooring line, whose magnetic clamp had it coiling tightly about the EVA's ankle as the craft banked sharply left.

EDEN looked down and could only watch in dismay as the line went taut, "Oh, not agai-"she let out a yelp crossed with a curse as the EVA was violently yanked off its feet, crashing into the ground and being dragged through the earth for half a mile before the ship arched upwards, pulling them into the air with a great amount of strain from its engines. The back of the EVA's head bashed off the ground repeatedly as their captor fought to gain altitude.

EDEN scowled from her upside-down position in the entry plug, "Well this is undignified…"

The EVA's shoulder section was released and slid forwards and EDEN reached around to pull free its Progressive Knife. She swung it down on the line, releasing a stream of sparks upon contact.

EDEN reared back to try again, only for the attempt to be stopped short as another line abruptly coiled itself around the EVA's wrist.

EDEN looked back just in time to catch sight of the second vessel before it reversed thrust, pulling the Evangelion rigidly up by its entire right side.

Two more ships descended to encase the remaining limbs and torso of the mech, suspending it from all directions just above the ground.

EDEN's disgruntled growl was echoed by the EVA as she tested the strength of the lines, "I've never been into bondage, and yet here I am again…"

EDEN knew it would take the Elbrus time to power up for pursuit, and that they would be out of her direct line of fire at the moment. She also knew that without the F-Type equipment in place on the EVA, Shinji wouldn't survive if they managed to drag the Unit outside of the planet's atmosphere.

She tried to align the Thunder Child's targeting sensors, but at that distance, and without taking time to fully analyse Garrus' personal modifications, there was no way she could be sure that she wouldn't hit Unit-01 as opposed to the enemy ships.

EDEN pulled against the lines, but just like those that had once held her ship body captive, these had the EVA perfectly restrained also.

She _needed_ more force.

Her hands gripped tightly onto the shoulders of the nearly unconscious human nestled in her arms, "I'm not sure if you can hear me, Shinji-kun. And I don't know how aware you are of what's going on either, and I'm also guessing you're very mad at me right now…and I'm sorry, I really am. But I can't _do this_ without you.

"I'm just a machine designed to be as flawed as the people I'm based on. And I know we've all failed you in the past. Be it when we left you behind in the hopes someone else would keep you safe, or when we tried living so selfishly and vicariously through you to achieve what we thought our desires were…or when we lied to you just so you wouldn't hate us any more than you already did…but I'm trying to fix that: I'm _trying_ not to fail you again, but I'm going to need a little push to help get me started."

She hugged him closer in the darkness and rested her forehead against his shoulder, closing her eyes as she whispered, "Please_, help me…_"

Her eyes drifted open as she felt Shinji's head shift ever so slightly about to regard her, a dim red light was visible from behind his lidded eyes as he looked to her. She gasped as she felt his hand brush gently over hers, "Is this enough?" he murmured, and she felt it: a deep, warm feeling in her heart; a sensation no machine was ever supposed to feel.

EDEN clasped her chest and chocked a slight sob at the warmth within her.

Shinji's dreamy expression softened, "Well that's good for you…" he then closed his eyes and settled back against her, his trust given.

-Ω-

The EVA's head snapped up. Its entire frame began to shudder, the ascent halted.

It hunched its shoulders forward slightly, a low grumbling coming from its throat. The Unit then arched backwards and released a deafening scream to the heavens as its eyes pulsed with brilliant light. A series of shimmering, angular wings erupted from its back, a halo glowing to life above the head.

The ground beneath was torn up as if a tornado had struck as the awakened Evangelion violently unfurled the full cataclysmic force of its A.T. Field.

The ships desperately tried to move the EVA, however it was to no avail. As if just registering their presence, Unit-01 looked back at the ship restraining its right arm and let out a long, hissing snarl.

With strength it hadn't possessed just moments prior, the EVA began coiling the wire restraining it's right arm around it's wrist until it could grasp hold of the length of the line in its fist.

Its wings snapped back as the A.T. field was reversed and it tore the ship violently towards it.

The vessel span end over end, coiling itself up in its own mooring line and was met mid-air by the fist of Unit-01. The blow tore through the ships forward hull and out the other side, sending it tumbling to earth in two halves with a violent explosion from its shattered mass effect core.

The EVA then pulled back with its left leg, dragging the attached ship closer as the shuttle restraining the other leg suddenly decided that being tethered to an awakening god that had taken offense probably wasn't the wisest career move, and so freed its line in order to retreat. This allowed Unit-01 to freely raise that leg up into the air and bring it's heel down, enveloped in an A.T. Field, right through the still attached ship, shattering it on impact.

The Evangelion pounced sideways and onto the ship holding its torso. It slammed it's Progressive Knife straight through its side, gutting the ship open and reducing it to a ball of blue flame mid-air. The explosion danced harmlessly about the attacker as it slammed back to the ground once more.

Without bothering to look, the EVA yanked its left arm back, dragging close the last ship and bisecting it out of the air with an almost lazy turning kick.

Unit-01's head then snapped up, turning its attention toward the retreating craft. The cyclone of air spiraling about the EVA erupted into a deafening swirl of destruction, flattening the terrain for miles around as the Unit crouched down, its wings angling back and pulsing brightly.

The Evangelion leaped upwards at the fleeing craft with enough force to drag most of the surrounding landscape up with it in it's wake.

The EVA spread its arms out as it twirled into a forward somersault over the top of the fleeing ship. Its right leg came down atop it, slamming down onto the top section as it gripped hold with its left thigh underneath. It then wrapped its arms about the ship, hugging on as it veered violently from side to side, desperately trying to shake off the cybernetic construct.

Unit-01 growled. Its wings pulsed again as the force of the A.T. field was reversed, abruptly knocking both shuttle and Evangelion into a violent spin.

As the twirl reached its arc, the EVA released its knees, gripped tight with both hands, and then _hurled_ the ship back down toward the planet surface with an extra blast of kinetic force from its field.

The ship attempted to auto-correct its landing but couldn't stop itself from crashing violently into the decimated landscape, skidding for miles before coming to a complete halt.

There came the low sound of displacing air as the EVA spun into a loud, crouched landing, skidding to a barely controlled halt by the ship.

The Unit let out what could only be described as a satisfied grunt as it looked down at the crippled vessel whilst its wings folded up, shimmering into nothingness along with its halo.

-Ω-

The distortions caused by the EVA's A.T. Field had meant that the Elbrus couldn't risk atmospheric flight. However that didn't mean her crew wasn't able to watch the proceedings as they'd taken place.

The screen in the cargo bay currently displayed Unit-01 looming over what remained of the enemy ships. The storm going on outside had subsided, and all that remained now was a gaunt, disbelieving silence.

"So that's an EVA…" mused Garrus, observing as the mecha moved off-screen.

"We really did have no idea…" said Tisala.

Aria regarded the screen in silence for a moment, her attention being drawn to the open airlock as a loud crash sounded from outside. Most of the amassed group tensed and readied their weapons. Aria, satisfied that the threats had been dealt with, merely strode calmly toward the opening.

In the remnants of the base outside lay the wreck of the crashed shuttle. It was sitting in the centre of what remained of the courtyard, right where Unit-01 had dumped it a moment prior. The EVA itself was crouched, kneeling with its head against the dock.

Aria indicated for her troops to follow and Tisala, Garrus and a large number of mercenaries emerged after her, most with great tentativeness.

Aria's attention was drawn from the shuttle to the EVA as it's head section slid forward and the entry plug was released. That simple act had most of the mercenaries reflexively going for their guns again as EDEN climbed over the rim of the plug and hopped down onto the dock.

They regarded her in silence as she approached, her leg clearly in the process of regenerating within the prosthetic shell she'd created, "An escape pod was jettisoned from that ship whilst it attempted escape. There may be some survivors, but I suspect Jona Sederis will not be among them."

Aria's suddenly found her attention focusing, "Jona Sederis?"

She nodded, "Yes, she seems to be one of the big players in this. That ship may still yield some valuable intelligence and so I…brought it along with me."

Aria glanced at her men and then inclined her head at the still smoking vessel. They indicated their understanding and immediately moved to secure the ship.

EDEN looked at the mercenaries as they moved away and then back to Aria, "I recommend we take what information we can and leave this place as quickly as possible. The turian government might not police this world much, but I suspect what just occurred will have likely attracted…_attention_."

Aria's eyes went past EDEN to the still Evangelion, "And that?"

"Still active," replied EDEN, "With your permission, I would like to get Unit-01 moved into the Elbrus' storage bay as quickly as possible."

Aria looked back at where Janus stood, "We have to take it with us," she told him.

The soldier inclined his head, "I understand," he said, glancing warily at the still form, "I can't promise there won't be a mutiny over the prospect, but I'll do my best…"

"The EVA _did_ just save your lives," said EDEN.

"Don't remind me…" he grunted, disappearing back the way they came.

"There's going to be fallout from this," said Tisala quietly as she watched the EVA slowly begin moving again.

Aria made no comment and merely watched the EVA in silence as it stood back up and turned toward the Elbrus. She of course knew what Tisala had said was true. There were too many eyes, too many ears. Sooner or later, this was going to get out…

What Aria couldn't have guessed however, what just how soon that was going to be...

-Ω-

Consciousness returned to Shinji in slow waves. It went from the dreamless sleep he had been in, to self-awareness, and finally to focusing on the sounds and smells about him.

The first physical sensation he had was fatigue. He could feel his arms and legs fine enough, but it felt as if someone had mixed a pound of lead in with his blood.

He suddenly remembered the blade, the flashes of memory after; like remembering a night after one too many drinks, and then he remembered the EVA…

He remembered _EDEN_.

Shinji's eyes flicked open. The soft lighting of the medical bay glared down from above and made him wince, the traditional antiseptic scents filling his sinuses. His head lolled to the right. Seeing nobody, he reversed directions.

He could see the lower half of a figure standing by his bed with their back to the wall. He didn't need to look at the face to know who it was.

Shinji returned his gaze upwards but kept that figure in view as Hayabashi's face appeared over him, smiling both warmly and professionally, "Doctor…" said Shinji through what he now realized was a very dry throat.

"Hello, Shinji," she replied, avoiding the use of any title or honorific as usual; something he always liked about her, "and how are you feeling?" she asked, glancing between her Omnitool and a nearby display.

"Like I lost nearly forty per cent of my blood and almost entered hypovolemic shock…"

Her smile widened slightly, "And they say doctors make the worst patients…"

Shinji looked back upward again, "That's probably because I'm not a doctor," he mumbled, leaning up slightly to drink deeply from the cup of cold water offered before being ushered gently back down again, "What happened? I mean, after the EVA…" he trailed off.

Shinji had a vague recollection of what the EVA had done whilst linked to EDEN. It had felt as if it were some kind of bizarre waking dream that was simply too difficult for the human mind to comprehend in any sensical manner.

"They got you back up here as quickly as possible and we...managed to top you up a little."

Shinji groaned, "Didn't know we had a stock of Type A on board…"

"We don't, but lucky for you there happened to be a compatible donor aboard who was kind enough to spare a pint and a half."

"Who?"

Asuka just looked at him in silence.

He took her meaning, "_Oh_…" he said, "Though I didn't really take you for an A-type."

She chuckled, "My mother always said the same thing."

He sighed, "I suppose I owe you one…or at least one and a half."

"_Oh?_" she asked, cocking an eyebrow up as she regarded him.

Shinji opened his mouth to query, only for him to realise what he'd just said. He closed his mouth and returned his gaze to the ceiling, "_Damn…"_

She smiled again, "I wouldn't worry about it. I'll make sure to wait until you're all better before calling in any favours."

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

She shrugged, "It's not the first time I've given blood in times of trouble. I'll be fine."

"Well…thanks anyways."

"It's not me you should be thanking," said Asuka, "EDEN's the one who dragged you out of the combat zone. It's her you…" she trailed off as she watched the emotion drain from Shinji's face and he turned his head slightly to regard the AI as she stood off to one side.

She didn't meet his gaze.

Shinji looked up again, "Doctor, everybody…please leave the room for a moment."

Hayabashi opened her mouth to speak, but was silenced as Shinji's gaze flicked briefly to her, his glare then switching to EDEN before going back up again.

The people in the room began to drift silently toward the door. Shinji was aware of the shadow over his bed begin moving, "_Not_…you," he suddenly said, his tone like a whiplash.

The one addressed really wasn't used to being spoken to in such a way, but chose not to comment and returned to her former posture. It wasn't like she hadn't seen this coming, after all…

There was silence in the bay for a moment.

"Did you know?" Shinji finally asked simply.

Aria's posture seemed to lose some of its rigidity, she turned her head to look down at him slightly, "It would-"

"-Did you _know_ what she was?" he snapped.

Aria turned her eyes from him, folding her arms and choosing to pay close attention to the bulkhead opposite, "I did…" she replied in that same quiet tone.

Shinji inhaled a long breath but said nothing.

"I just want you to understand. The reason-"

"I _understand _why you lied to me!" he snapped, glaring at her, "But that doesn't mean I don't get to be fucking _pissed off_ at you about it regardless! I mean what the _fuck_, Aria!"

"You watch your language!"

"And I…" Shinji's voice died, mouth open as he gaped at her, "_Excuse me?"_

Aria used that brief pause to get a word in edgewise "If you understand then why are you even bothering to ask me to explain myself?"

Shinji sat up, his brow fluttering as dizziness swamped him. He felt Aria's hand on his upper arm somewhere but he managed to keep focus, "Because you still kept it from me, and just because I might _understand_ doesn't mean that you get out of saying it anyway. I want to know, Aria T'Loak, why you didn't tell me about this. "

Aria looked right back at him, glowering on reflex, yet her voice held little of its usual fire, "Because I didn't know _how_…"

Shinji blinked in mild surprise, "What?"

"I didn't know how to say it without hurting you," she admitted, "You said it yourself: you couldn't bring yourself to hurt EDEN, and she's one of the few things you have left of your world. I _know_ your feelings on the Dummy System, and so I didn't know how to go about telling you about her without risking you being hurt. If everything went well, we never would've even needed the EVA and you would've never…" Aria trailed off, loathing the next words she had to speak, "…needed to know. But no, I also didn't want to lie to you; I didn't know _what _to do."

Her expression darkened and Shinji felt her grip tighten, "In case you weren't aware, my love, I'm not exactly _adept_ at being considerate toward the feelings of others." She leaned closer, right into his face, "You once said that you were trying, well guess what: _So am I. _And if I failed in this instance, then I suppose there really is only one thing I _can_ say for myself, and do listen up because, unlike you, I rarely find myself saying the following words: I'm sorry."

Shinji held her glare for a moment before pulling his eyes away from hers. Her grip didn't relent however.

He was silent in thought for a brief period before sighing, "And so now I can't even be angry at you without sounding like a hypocrite?"

A grim smile pulled at the side of her face, "No."

Shinji smiled humourlessly, "Damn you…"

She hooked her thumb under his chin to bring his gaze back to hers, leaning in closer to him, "I was damned long ago…" her hand then slid round the back of his head to hold him close as she kissed him, drawing the contact out until his lips relented and let her tongue make contact with his as she slid up onto the bed by him.

Shinji suddenly wavered in her arms, staggering down as the hand he'd braced himself up on gave way.

Aria pulled away, lowering her hand so she was supporting his back. "What's wrong?"

He smiled apologetically, laying back into the small of her arm, "Sorry. Arousal and anaemia: bad combination…"

Her expression softened almost imperceptibly, "Well I suppose I'll let you off then…this time."

Aria sat down on the edge of the bed, shifting so she still had one arm about him, "What about her?" she asked, looking toward the AI core door.

Shinji's gaze flicked to it and back, "I felt –if that's the right word—what EDEN did when she joined with me. I can't be any angrier at her than she is ashamed."

His eyes narrowed in thought, "I suppose that's what caught me off guard. The truth is: EDEN is ashamed of her very existence. AI's are supposed to be perfect intelligences, whereas EDEN is programmed to be flawed, and neither does she consider herself to be _alive_ either. The only thing she felt good about was that she reminded me of people I used to know, and she knows now that I won't be able to stop at least partly linking her with my memory of the technology used in Unit-01 against the Thirteenth Angel, and also of the ones used against Asuka every time I look at her, but that's my fault, not hers."

"She's probably listening, you know," commented Aria.

Shinji shook his head, "No, I don't think so…but either way," he reached over to the panel behind his bed and hit a control.

A moment later, EDEN re-entered, her expression solemn as she stopped at the foot of Shinji's bed, "Shinji-kun…"

"EDEN," he replied with a nod, sitting up against the side of Aria's arm, "So…the truth is out…"

She inclined her head, looking away slightly, "It would seem so…"

"So, that's why my Mother created you: But you're not just a Dummy System, are you?"

She shook her head, "I'm no more a Dummy System than this ship is a wooden raft. The more accurate term would be synthetic EVA pilot."

Shinji smiled grimly and laid back to look up at the ceiling, "_My_ pilot, with me acting as the core. How neat."

She nodded, "that was the basic principal."

Shinji looked back to her, "You know how I feel about that technology…what it did to Toji, then Asuka."

She inclined her head.

"Then just answer me one thing…"

She cocked her head, "What?"

He regarded her carefully, "Why did you choose to activate it now?"

EDEN blinked, "I don't understand."

"I think you do. If I was in danger, then you know just as well as I do that you could've just retreated with the Elbrus or summoned the Thunder Child along with what survivors might have managed to escape with you. There was no way you could have known the EVA would even activate."

EDEN seemed hesitant to respond, "There were…other considerations…"

"Concerns beyond risking the intergalactic community knowing that the EVA is active?" asked Shinji.

EDEN's posture seemed to deflate slightly, "flawed, isn't that what you said?"

"Told you she was listening…"

"So you activated the EVA…" prompted Shinji, ignoring Aria's jibe.

She sighed, "Because the loss of life would have been greater had I not."

"For all you know it might end up greater _because_ you activated it in the long run," commented Shinji.

"I'm aware of that…"

"Then the numbers _don't_ add up. You had already saved me; and you could've kept the EVA secure if you locked down the bay. Why then, EDEN, did you activate the EVA and turn it on those mercenaries?"

EDEN looked away again, her voice barely above a whisper, "Because I would rather have you hate me than sit by and do nothing whilst those close to me suffer and die."

Shinji narrowed his gaze at her, "So, you activated the EVA _just_ to save our friends' lives?"

"…yes."

A slight smile pulled at Shinji's mouth, "to save Aria too?"

Her brow twitched, "You're enjoying this…"

"You lied and deceived me; I _get_ to enjoy this."

EDEN sighed, "I suppose…that was _one_ of the outcomes of that choice."

Shinji looked up to Aria, "Looks like you owe her one."

She scoffed, "I'll call us even for blasting a hole in my station and attacking me."

"See," said Shinji to EDEN, "you're practically her maid of honour already."

Aria scowled, "I don't know what that is, but something tells me I should be annoyed."

"The bottom line is, EDEN, I don't hate you for this. I'm extremely annoyed, as I just told Aria in quite calm and civil terms-"

"-That's one way to put it…" murmured the asari.

"-but I'm not childish enough to understand how different you are from the old Dummy System. Perhaps once, a long time ago, I might have held it against you, but you said it best: I'm no longer that person."

A weak smile appeared on EDEN's face, "It seems I really do keep misjudging you…"

Shinji shrugged slightly, "I wouldn't worry. But if you have any trouble with understanding people, just come and talk to me. I've been informed I'm quite good at it."

"If we're quite done with this?" asked Aria with a sigh.

EDEN nodded, "Of course…"

"Good. I want you to keep a very close eye on all transmissions heading outbound from both the Elbrus and the Thunder Child."

Shinji frowned, "Why?"

Aria stood back up, "Because I don't want some grunt sharing a-"

"-We have a problem," cut in EDEN suddenly.

"Fantastic…" said Aria dryly, "would you like to elaborate?"

"I've been monitoring all outbound tightbeam communiqués from our forces on the Elbrus as well as the crew aboard this ship since we departed the planet eight hours ago."

"_But?_" prodded Aria.

"_But_, it would appear that a single member of the crew on board this vessel managed to send an outbound video file prior to our departure. It was posted on a social media site before I could filter it out. Luckily, the file had been marked for private viewing by family only and I have since deleted it."

Shinji exhaled a breath, "Well that's a relief."

"Unfortunately, the file appears to have been copied by one of those family members and posted on a public forum."

"Then delete _that_," sighed Shinji.

"I already have, it has however already been copied and uploaded to the Citadel central video network."

"Have you been able-"began Shinji, only for EDEN to cut in again.

"-and it has since been copied to over five hundred different locations. Cumulative views from all sources currently exceeds sixty three thousand."

"Well can't you just-"

"-Correction: four hundred and eighty-two thousand views…"

"Well it's not all-"

"-make that two point eight million…"

Shinji's shoulders sank, "It's…gone viral…?"

"…forty-two million views…"

Shinji clenched his eyes shut, "Please stop…"

"…You may want to take a look at the Alliance News Network…"

Shinji just groaned and flopped back onto the bed.

"…And the Citadel Council is now attempting to reach us via tightbeam."

"Who uploaded the damn thing?" snapped Aria

"From my records, it appeared to be Chief Catering Officer Leeroy Jenkins. He volunteered to be part of the assault forces."

Shinji groaned, "God damn it, Leeroy…" he wiped his face down with one hand and looked back to EDEN, "who even let him come along?"

"He does have quite extensive combat training. He also turned out to be quite adept at melee combat, even if he did have a rather bizarre habit of repeatedly screaming his own name when attacking the enemy…though I am starting to realize now why he was discharged from the Alliance Navy."

"Want me to have him thrown out the airlock?" asked Aria, "It's your crew…"

Shinji just shook his head tiredly, "No, he probably didn't mean any harm by it. Why do you suppose Tisala even picked him out for the crew in the first place?"

"I believe it was because he, and I quote, 'makes damned good chicken'. To be fair, there is little beyond that required for his position."

Shinji just took a long breath and then nodded, "Okay, let's see the video…it can't be that bad can-"

He was cut off as the unmistakable sound of Unit-01's growl filled the small room as the file played on a wall monitor.

"Well that's not a good start," sighed Shinji as he staggered to his feet with a hand from Aria.

The display showed Unit-01 as it stood atop the Elbrus and then as it stepped down to begin massacring the indoctrinated forces, all the while being recorded from what seemed to be the Elbrus' cargo bay door.

It seemed Jenkins went so far as to step back outside and sneak back along the dock to film as the EVA was dragged off by the lead shuttle and across the forest, "His camera work is depressingly good…" mumbled Shinji, watching the proceedings, "Let's just hope he stops filming before…" he trailed off, hopes dashed as the Evangelion let out a screeching roar as its wings blazed to life, tearing up the terrain about it and then proceeding to pick apart the ships trying to hold it before leaping into the sky and dispatching the remaining ship.

"Well at least he was thorough…" grumbled the human as the EVA crashed back to the ground.

"How bad?" he asked, addressing EDEN.

She inclined her head, "About this bad…"

A news report blinked to life on the monitor. The ANN logo was in the corner and a voice Shinji recognised as Diana Allers filled the bay, the reporter offering somewhat colorful, if urgent commentary as the words 'BREAKING NEWS: PIRATE SUPERWEAPON RAMPAGES ON TURIAN COLONY.' scrolled along the bottom in annoyingly bright red lettering.

"And they've already got no doubt over the footage being genuine or not?" mused Shinji, "I've heard news travels fast, but…" he trailed off, frankly staggered how quickly things could escalate on an interstellar scale in less than a day.

"How long until we dock with Omega?" asked Aria suddenly, her eyes locked on the screen.

"A little under three hours," replied EDEN.

She nodded, "Send a signal to the mercenary fleet. I want them gathered at the station by the end of the day."

Shinji turned to her, "The fleet? You can't seriously think we might be going to war over this, Aria."

EDEN nodded, "I understand where she's coming from, Shinji-kun. You said it yourself: input, process, output; Jona Sederis had several ships in hiding around that planet. Assuming she may have been indoctrinating the crews of armed mercenary vessels at an output rate of one per day, and based on the size of the force she had to spare in order to guard that base, the odds are she could have amassed an entire fleet of her own by now."

"It's not just that," said Aria, pacing slightly, "After what just happened, there's a chance the Citadel races may send ships of their own into the Terminus systems to investigate or even to attempt to secure the EVA. If that happens, it would put it even more out of reach of those who seem so desperate to take it."

EDEN clarified, "Meaning they will most likely now be forced into action due to this revelation.

"Jona Sederis was indoctrinated also, albeit with her reasoning and self-control left mostly intact, but whoever was responsible for the indoctrination is still waiting in the wings. Cerberus experimented with indoctrination, but that doesn't mean to say there weren't other groups who did the same."

"Meaning it could be anybody…" murmured Shinji, remembering that ghostly form's warning about the danger waiting in the darkness. He suddenly felt a deep sense of foreboding.

Aria spoke up, "The fact is, Shinji, we're already at war. We just don't know who with yet. But whoever they are, they'll be making their move soon, have no doubt of that."

Shinji nodded in solemn agreement.

Be it in a fight against Citadel Space, their mysterious enemy or both, Shinji sensed that in the not too distant future a lot of blood was going to be spilled…

-Ω-

The fleet had almost finished gathering and forming around the station, the EVA long since secured back in its bay, when things began to escalate even further.

Aria stood watching the main display in her command center when a bright blue flash lit up space as a great hulking shape dropped out of FTL, dwarfing the myriad of pirate vessels gathering about Omega.

"What's going on?" asked Shinji as he entered the room, stopping dead as he regarded the image on the screen.

"After my response to the council's demand for an explanation, they've requested we permit…a _delegation_ to be dropped off in order to assess the situation."

Shinji looked at the image of the Destiny Ascension as she closed almost lazily in on the station, "They've sent _that _just to drop off a delegation?"

"It's symbolic," replied Aria, "they can't spare the Ascension long, but they will use her long enough to remind us just who still has the biggest gun, regardless of the EVA."

"What did you tell them?" asked Shinji.

Aria cocked her head, "I advised them that I'd be glad to apologize for the incursion on the grounds that the turian government would do the same for permitting Jona Sederis' mercenary force to operate out of one of their colonies unchecked."

"Did you tell them that her forces hadn't actually launched any assaults against you before we attacked?"

"That didn't come up, no. I think the turians are trying to avoid any further embarrassment in relation to that planet so they skirted the issue as quickly as possible afterward."

"So now we've just got to deal with them knowing we have an active Evangelion in our possession?"

She nodded, "They're sending Councillor Tevos and a…_guard_."

Shinji frowned, "A guard?"

She scowled and folded her arms, "Since the asari are mediating, and this is a situation that could affect the stability of the galaxy as a whole, the council requested the presence of a specific _kind_ of asari to keep… an outside eye on things. There's no way otherwise that they'd agree to drop their councillor here and then let the Ascension leave otherwise. While it might just be another show of power, she's nonetheless a nuisance I could do without."

"What do you mean? What kind of asari?"

"There's an..._organisation_ among my people. They dedicate themselves to the pursuit of peace and order amongst the republics."

"So, not friends of yours, I take it."

She glanced witheringly at him, "_No_…and I'd been informed that this particular bitch had retired a few years back to go live with her daughter. Their numbers must be worse than I thought if they're resorting to reactivation."

"Wait, an asari organisation? Are…are you talking about the Justicars?"

Aria seemed to resist the urge to roll her eyes, "Yes. And in case you didn't know: a station full of what can only be described as less than scrupulous individuals doesn't exactly mix well with a powerful biotic who is honor-bound to crush any such people unfortunate enough to get in her way."

"And did you tell them that we may very well be attacked by a fleet of indoctrinated mercenaries at any moment?"

"I did, but the turian representative, and I quote, 'dismissed those claims'. He said they were a clear attempt to divert attention away from the main issue."

"They could've at least left the Ascension behind to keep an eye on their own councillor…"

"That's how dismissed my 'claims' were."

Tisala set down the headset she'd been wearing to listen in on the comm traffic, "The Councillor's shuttle is requesting clearance to pass the inner defensive line and dock with us."

Aria sighed quietly, "I'm not looking forward to this."

"Don't worry, I'll go down to meet them," said Shinji, smiling reassuringly, "I think they'll need you here to help with the preparations anyway."

Aria regarded him carefully, "You're sure?"

He nodded, "Don't worry, I can handle it."

Aria seemed unsure but then nodded at Tisala to proceed. She returned her attention to the communications system, "You have clearance to dock at bay sixteen. Consort Ikari will meet Councillor Tevos and Justicar Samara when they disembark."

Tisala then turned and fell into step alongside Shinji as he left.

"You don't mind if I join you, do you?" asked Garrus, who pushed off from where he'd been leaning against the rear wall and walked after them.

Shinji looked back as Garrus followed after and boarded the elevator with them, "Not at all. I don't suppose _you_ have any experience dealing with councillors or the like?" he asked as he hit the control for the docking level.

Garrus replied, "Not really. I try to avoid getting mixed up in politics whenever possible. The Justicar however…" he trailed off, his tone sounding almost fond.

"You know Justicar Samara?" asked Tisala, somewhat startled.

Shinji looked between them, "I don't get it, is this person famous?"

Garrus inclined his head, "Justicars often are amongst the asari. We were comrades aboard the Normandy. It's been a long time since we've seen each other."

"So you were…friends?" asked the asari.

"I'd certainly like to think so."

"You were _friends _with Justicar Samara?" she repeated.

Garrus frowned, "Yes. Why do you ask?"

"N-no reason," she replied hastily, glancing quickly away, and if Shinji didn't know any better he could've sworn she was twiddling her fingers slightly.

Shinji felt a smirk pull at the edge of his mouth. He leaned into her view, "Garrus, what's the asari word for fangirl?"

"I am not a _fangirl,_" she retorted a little more defensively than intended, "I've just…followed her career with some interest, that's all."

"So long as you don't go asking her to sign your chest…" muttered Shinji.

"Ask her to what?" she asked, and Shinji just smiled, shaking his head to dismiss the query.

They made their way to the airlock, the shuttle outside visible as it was secured in place.

"So what's your plan?" asked Garrus.

Shinji blinked and looked to him, "Plan?"

"For handling the councillor; don't you have one?"

Shinji took a breath as he regarded the airlock, "I'll be going with Plan A: Make it up as I go along."

"I'd love to hear your Plan B…" murmured Garrus.

"I never have a Plan B."

"I wouldn't worry, Garrus," cut in Tisala as the airlock unsealed itself, "All Shinji has to do is get Tevos into his bedroom for a few hours and I'm sure it'll be problem solved…"

Shinji dwelled in silence for a second before speaking again, "Garrus?"

"What is it?"

"There is now a Plan B."

-Ω-

_To be continued…_

-XA-

[A/N] And done once more. Bit of a shorter one this time around, if only to ease me back into things, but I hope the wait hasn't been too long, and also that I didn't disappoint too much. As usual, minor corrections missed before release will be updated as I see them, chapter progress updates will be tweeted accordingly, as usual if you liked it let me know, and lastly I shall as always endeavour to get the next little instalment out as quickly as is humanly possible.

Catch you in Chapter 24: The Last Child


	24. Chapter 24: The Last Child

Version 1.1: Some revisions (Thanks Vandenbz)

[A/N] And here we are again. A slight strop in RL kind of downed me for a while so sorry this chapter was delayed, took me a while to face writing anything serious again, had to ease myself into it with some light hearted stuff over the past couple of weeks. To those who were patient and understanding I say thank you, to the…others, whose views were quite succinct via IM and shall go nameless, I have nothing to say to you. Regardless, intrigued by the reactions to the last instalment, things will have to be taken into consideration it seems. Anyhoo, I'm distracting you from that great hulking bit of text a few lines down so never mind me, carry on…

**Chapter 24: The Last Child**

Tevos was not the first to emerge from the shuttle. No, that was the one who was assigned to be her 'guard'.

The first thing that caught Shinji's eye about Samara was the strange, seemingly myopic stare that focused instantly on him after briefly flicking about to assess the surrounding area.

To be blatantly truthful, there was actually something _else_ that caught Shinji's attention even before the eyes, but he considered it rude to let his gaze linger.

He bowed with traditional formally, "Lady Samara…"

She inclined her head curtly in response, "Consort Ikari." She then turned her attention to his associates, "Former Council Spectre Tisala," who nodded somewhat timidly in response. She then looked to the third member of the group and seemed to hesitate briefly, cocking her head slightly as if curious, "Garrus Vakarian…"

"Hello, Samara. You look well."

"Thank you. I would say likewise. It has been quite some time."

Garrus inclined his head, "Yes, not since that incident on the Citadel with the clone. Ah, good times…"

Samara nodded in agreement before turning to look back into the airlock and nodding once again.

Tevos emerged at the top of the steps garbed as normal in her robes of office. Her expression was as businesslike as ever.

Shinji stepped forward, offering a polite hand to which the councillor curtly took and stepped down, "Councillor Tevos…"

She nodded, "Consort Ikari…a pleasure to see you again. Although I wish it were under better circumstances."

"Likewise. Would you like some refreshments before-"

"-I would like to see the EVA, if at all possible," she cut in as politely as possible.

Shinji realised then that the councillor was there to negotiate above all else, hence her game face. That meant everything he said or did might have an impact. Such things weren't in his spectrum of expertise, and so he realised that he would have to draw her down to a more cordial level where he could operate more comfortably.

His eyes flicked to Tisala and back. She smiled tiredly as an understanding was passed.

"B it is then…" sighed Shinji.

"Excuse me?" enquired Tevos.

Shinji just smiled warmly and then slipped his arm gently about hers. She tensed briefly and passed him a questioning look, to which he responded only by softening his gaze.

She held his eyes for a moment and he could see the hesitation in there. After a second, Shinji felt her muscles relax against him, "May I lead the way?" he asked, slipping his hand free and moving to rest his palm gently on the small of her back.

She nodded once, "of course."

"He works fast," murmured Garrus to Tisala as they fell into step a few metres behind the pair, Samara joining them at their side.

"He takes his time when it matters though," she replied, smirking slightly.

"I really didn't need to know that…"

"You feel very tense," commented Shinji as he walked with the councillor.

Tevos inclined her head, "I hope you understand why…"

Shinji looked ahead again, "Yes…" he said with a sigh, "You'll of course get all the details later, but I hope you at least believe me when I say I had no idea we had a way of activating the EVA until just a few days ago. I honestly thought it was completely inert."

"I do not believe it was your intent to deceive me."

The unspoken words were of course that whilst Shinji might not have known, that didn't apply to absolutely _everyone_ he knew.

"Aria knew, I assume," said Tevos after a pause.

"It's Aria, of course she knew. Though she didn't learn about it until after the incident on the Citadel, so it wasn't like she was lying back then when she said it didn't work."

"She just…neglected to mention it afterwards?"

"I'm sure it just slipped her mind," said Shinji uncomfortably.

"Yes, I'm sure…"

"I'm sorry if this situation was…embarrassing, for you."

Her gaze flicked to him, "I don't follow."

He sighed, "You supported not having me taken to the Citadel and were even sympathetic back then, only for this to happen. I'm guessing having you come here is just the other councillors' way of rubbing your face in it."

"I would never speak badly of my colleagues…"

"But?" he prompted.

"But I…suspect it may be as you say."

"I know they must've felt grated; they barely survived the vote of no confidence put forth by the other embassies after that incident, while you were the only one no vote was actually taken against. Politicians really can be petty…"

Her eyes again went to him, "Is present company-"

"-Excepted, as always, Tevos," he said, applying sudden pressure with the flat of his thumb on her back and moving it in a brief circle, watching as she let out a reluctant hum in response.

She inhaled a subtle, sharp breath, "Are you attempting to distract me?"

"I'm attempting to relax you. I take it you've seen the video that was taken…"

She inclined her head, "It was quite disturbing for 'out-dated technology'."

"Are you also aware that we may be attacked by mercenaries at any moment?"

"Aria did bring that to the council's attention, yes."

"And?"

"I personally believed some caution should be shown, however-"

"-however your 'co-workers' saw a chance to issue retaliation for their personal embarrassment and chose therefore to ignore her."

"Again, I would not like to speak badly-"

"-Well _I_ would_." _Cut in Shinji, "The other councillors are fools and you need to get a better job. In fact, how much are they paying you?"

She seemed to try not to smile, "You would rather I not be there to mediate?"

That gave him pause, "You make a good point…"

"I usually do. But I will admit that events of the past few years have taught me to err on the side of caution, for I have seen the consequences of ignoring such 'claims'."

"And the others?"

Tevos seemed to think on it for a moment, "We have just emerged from the most devastating conflict in recorded history. It is easier and less painful for the council to deal with one rogue asari and one EVA than to deal with the public fear that would emerge if they openly admitted that the stability of the galaxy may once again be at risk."

"And so they ignore the lessons that conflict taught them?"

"Denial can be a powerful force, Shinji."

He nodded, "And you? I know it's not proper to ask, but how did you vote in that matter?"

"As I said: I voiced caution and recommended an investigation into Aria's claims, especially after it was confirmed that Jona Sederis had indeed escaped captivity."

"Then do you want _me_ to be honest?"

"I would be upset if you did the opposite."

"Get off this station."

Her brow furrowed and she turned her head to look at him, "Excuse me?"

"You are not safe here, Tevos. You almost got _shot_ the last time we met, and I don't want to apologise for that by getting you caught in a warzone."

"Your concern is…touching, but I am not afraid. I will do my duty and will take whatever fate has in store for me."

He smiled weakly, "Brave…"

"No, no I am not…" she said, her voice becoming quiet for an instant.

"I still don't think much of the rest of the council. They voted to send someone out here with just one guard and yet didn't have the courage to come themselves."

"I actually volunteered. Regardless of how it may seem, it would have been improper for any of the others to handle the task."

Shinji sighed, "Yeah, well either way I suppose this is two I owe you now."

Tevos glanced questioningly at him.

He inclined his head, "A debt I'm happy to have, of course."

Tevos looked at him with what Shinji was sure bordered for her on amusement, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind..."

Shinji sighed, "Well on the bright side, Aria's assured me that while the attack might begin advancing on us at any time, we should at least get some early warning of their approach."

"Assuming this attack is to come, how much prior notice will you get?"

"We have listening posts that only a handful of Aria's closest staff know about, so we should at least get somewhere between forty-eight and seventy-two hours' leeway, _if_ we are lucky."

"And if we are not?"

Shinji frowned, "Like I said: we _should _get admitted that there are blind spots in her sensor network. If we are _exceedingly_ unlucky, we may not get any advance notice beyond a few moments. It will depend on just who Jona has in her employ and how much intel she has."

"Are you ready for an attack?"

"I have faith in Aria. If she says we'll be ready for them, then we'll be ready."

"Faith in Aria T'Loak…I never thought I would meet anyone who would say those words with conviction," Tevos spared him another brief glance as they walked, "I suppose it would only be proper to offer my personal congratulations on your…_announcement _while I am here."

Shinji inclined his head, "Thank you. I'll make sure to send you an invite, assuming that won't cause _too _much controversy, of course."

"What I do in my personal time is of no concern to anyone else."

It was Shinji's turn to look at her, a twinge of a smile flashing over his features, "Why that almost sounded rebellious, madam councillor."

"Make of it what you will."

"I'm not too surprised though, not after some of the things Aria told me…" he watched carefully as her brow twitched, "So was it true?" he asked.

"Was what true?"

"The story about you, Aria, the two exotic dancers, and the six-litre tub of-"

"-Yes, _thank you…_" she cut in sharply and in a slightly higher pitched voice than she probably intended.

Shinji couldn't help but chuckle slightly, "I'm sorry. I couldn't resist," and by way of apology he applied gentle downward pressure with his thumb again, moving it in tiny, subtle circles right atop her nerve cluster.

He observed Tevos stifle a gasp, clenching her teeth slightly and tightly closing her eyes, "_Please…_" she said with tense breathlessness. Shinji relented and her eyes opened only slightly. She looked to him with a narrow gaze, and just for that instant, Shinji saw something in her eyes that he'd never seen before as she lowered her tone until it was barely audible. She then carefully enunciated one single word:

"…_Later._"

Shinji's left eyebrow rose seemingly of its own accord and was unable to stop his eyes from widening ever so slightly. He blinked, and her expression was as it was before.

Shinji was suddenly reminded of that old expression about being wary of the quiet ones. He was also starting to wonder just how much Aria hadn't told him about the seemingly stoic councillor.

Shinji glanced briefly over his shoulder. Their companions had been keeping a distance and were in the midst of their own conversations, so he doubted any of their exchange had been paid heed. Then he noticed Samara. She may have been talking to Garrus, but her gaze was clearly trained on Tevos. He followed her line of sight and realised it was actually trained on the hand he had resting on the small of the councillor's back. He realised the Justicar obviously had a very keen eye for detail, and also, he noted with a supressed smirk, no aversion to _watching_.

He noted that for future reference.

-Ω-

The bay that Shinji had dubbed the EVA's 'cage' was even more guarded than the last time he visited. There were numerous security checkpoints, turret installations and more than a few mechs deployed to guard the EVA. Aria had obviously categorised it at far higher risk than before.

"I see Aria is taking precautions," commented Tevos as Shinji entered his access code, allowing the final sealed door to open into the EVA's bay. By this point Samara had taken up a position at the councillor's side, which he assumed was a precautionary measure on her part. He didn't blame her for her caution.

Shinji observed the elder pair of asari approach the still Evangelion, neither showing any breach of composure. Tevos stopped, regarding the silent mech carefully. Shinji came to a halt behind them.

"Is it-" began Tevos.

"-Quite inactive just now," finished Shinji, "I take it you would be opposed to a demonstration."

"Quite opposed," said Samara curtly, her eyes not budging from the EVA, "For what purpose does it serve?" she asked.

"Excuse me?" asked Shinji.

She turned now to look back at him, "This is a weapon. One clearly designed for war. For what purpose do you hold it?"

It was a fair enough question, Shinji felt. His eyes narrowed in thought, "For one, I have to make sure nobody _else_ gets their hands on it. Beyond that, it's just…a memory. "

Shinji took a step forward , "The EVA, myself and…_one_ other thing are all that remains of my entire universe. I know I should just destroy Unit-01, but I can't. It's like it's a part of me…"

Tevos nodded slowly, "Yes, we were of course made aware of your claims about being from an alternate reality."

Shinji fell silent and Samara's eyes were drawn downwards to where his knuckles suddenly cracked into a tight fist. She turned fully about to face him, but he didn't notice. His eyes burned into the councillor's back, "My…_claims_?" he intoned, his fist twitching open and closed.

Tevos looked back out of curiosity. She seemed startled to find the consort glaring openly back at her. She turned quickly about, "Is there some-"

"-You know what I've suddenly been made aware of, Councillor Tevos?" he asked, his voice rising slightly.

"I-" began Tevos, but didn't get a word in edgewise.

"-I've suddenly realised that I don't _care_ what the Citadel Council thinks.

"I don't _care_ if all the little girls and boys can't sleep at night on the Citadel knowing the scary pirate has a big robot on her station. I do not _care_. This isn't Citadel Space and I have no intention of taking the EVA _into _Citadel Space again. And if you still have a problem with me, then I suggest next time you come with a lot more muscle and a lot more firepower, because I assure you: you will need it.

"My only warning to Citadel Space is this: I will _not_ be the one to fire the first shot, and if you want to start a war out of fear alone, Tevos, then may your cowardice be what _burns you_."

"Shinji, I-" began Tevos, visibly shocked, bordering on actually appearing hurt.

"-_Enough!_" he barked, "I'm done with this…" he then turned and proceeded to storm from the room.

"Wait!" shouted Tisala, moving to follow.

"Stay here!" he snapped back at her over his shoulder, halting her on the spot, "I want you and Garrus to keep an eye on your Justicar friend. Please try and make sure she doesn't murder anybody whilst she's here. Tell Aria I'll be back at Afterlife if she wants me…"

The bay was filled with stunned silence, "I…what did I say to offend him so?" said Tevos, looking on at the door the consort had just left through.

Tisala sighed, "You mean besides demeaning his very existence by referring to it as a _claim_?" she asked tiredly, "I'd say that, more than anything else, Councillor, you've just disappointed him."

"That…was not my intention," she objected.

"Nevertheless…" replied the former spectre, "You have your information, councillor: The EVA is active but Shinji has no designs for it, nor any intent to utilise it against Citadel Space, and unless you're prepared to go to war over the issue then there really isn't a problem. And as the consort obviously has nothing more to say on the issue, then I would say he's just cut the length of time needed for your visit considerably."

"There were…other issues and concerns I wished to discuss in relation to these matters."

"Then it would appear you have missed your opportunity, Councillor." Said the younger asari amicably, "Aria has prepared some accommodation for you during your stay. You will of course be free to call for transportation back to Citadel Space whenever you choose. If you'd please follow me…"

Tisala then stopped herself after a few steps. Her shoulders sagged relentingly with a sigh, "I will…_try_ and see if Consort Ikari will agree to continue your meeting, once he has had time to calm down. Though there may be only one person capable of doing that…"

"Thank you, Tisala," replied the councillor, to which she merely inclined her head without looking back and then carried onwards.

-Ω-

Aria found Shinji in her suite. He was lying on his back, resting on her sofa as he glared up at the ceiling in silence. She got the sense that he'd be pacing angrily if he were the sort with that inclination. She regarded him with her arms folded for a spell.

She knew he'd registered her presence even though he made no sign of it for a moment, "I take it the preparations are complete," he finally said.

"We're ready for whatever they throw at us. Now it's just a matter of time."

Shinji just nodded.

Aria circled around to the front of the chair, "I hear negotiations didn't end well."

"I think they ended very well. I made the situation as clear as day: The EVA is mine and I'm done with them meddling in my affairs."

"And declare war if they have any issue with that?"

"If that's what they want it to come down to…"

"You're angry."

He scoffed, "Oh, what gave it away?"

Aria inclined her head, sitting down on the edge of the sofa, "Well mainly it was the fact that you dealt with the situation like…well, like…"

"Like you would?" he offered.

"I would've controlled my tone and chosen my words slightly better, but yes."

"Then there isn't a problem."

"There is…" she replied quietly, "I let you handle that situation with the understanding that you would do it as _you_ would, not like I would. The situation required a…personal touch, a touch you had already laid the groundwork for."

"You're saying that if I took what she said personally then I should've dealt with it personally and not let my anger bleed into becoming my official standpoint?"

"Clever boy."

"Don't patronise me…"

"I like patronising you. But as far as Citadel councillors go-"

"-She's just like the rest," cut in Shinji.

Aria looked at him carefully "Is that your genuine opinion?"

Shinji didn't respond, though Aria did notice his scowl deepen out of irritation, "Didn't think so…"

Aria stood up and sent a message to his Omnitool, "That's the address of the suite I've holed her up in. It's in this sector, so if you choose to drop by it shouldn't be too far out your way. It's your choice. Though if you'd like my personal recommendation, I'd recommend you go back to Plan B, it's much more you than all this moping."

"Plan B?" he mused, "So, it was Tisala who sent you…"

"Nobody _sends_ me anywhere. I came because I chose to, and also because sometimes even you need to be told things for your own good. I also feel that you should consider replacing plan A with Plan B in the future. I think you'll find things will work out much easier that way."

Shinji sat up after a moment and let out a long breath as Aria regarded him. He then stood up and headed for the bedroom.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to need a fresh set of clothes for the morning, and then I'm going to swipe a bottle of Noverian Rum from the stores, the good stuff. You're right, Aria-"

"-I usually am-"

"-It's time to begin _proper negotiations…" _He paused to glance at her, "Coming along?"

She thought on it, "I'll join you in the morning when it's purely pleasure and not business. It may be our last chance before this all kicks off."

He nodded, "I'll see you in the morning then," his mouth pulled briefly into a smirk, "dress appropriately."

Aria smiled reluctantly as he paused to kiss her on the way out, "Wish me luck."

"You won't need it, but I will give you advance warning."

He frowned, "What warning?"

"Don't underestimate Tevos. She's calm on the surface, but there are…_undercurrents_ to her. I know for a fact that you tempted her on the Citadel, and that's been sitting, lingering in her mind for some time now. Add in that and you might just be in for a challenge."

Shinji remembered that brief flash in the Councillor's eyes earlier, when she'd looked ready to jump him on the spot. He suppressed a gulp, "You're _sure_ you don't want to come?"

"Go," she prompted with a gentle shove, "I'll be there to pick up the pieces in the morning."

"Thanks for the reassurance…"

"You're the one who wanted honesty."

He sighed as the door opened, "And I'm already starting to see why people say ignorance is bliss…"

-Ω-

Shinji entered the antechamber leading to the councillor's quarters. It was empty save for the presence of just one other.

Samara was sitting on a chair by the inner door in a traditional meditative position. He stopped politely in front of her. He'd said nothing but sensed she was more than aware of his presence.

She opened her eyes and raised her head up to look at him.

He guessed she was waiting for him to speak, "Might I have permission to pass, Justicar Samara?"

He saw the justicar reach for her Omnitool to announce him. Unsure of what to say, Shinji extended a hand and rested it atop hers, halting her.

Samara regarded him in questioning silence for a second, but she managed to grasp his meaning. She then hesitated, as if running it past something in her head, before nodding at him to continue.

He bowed respectfully and moved to pass her as she returned to her former posture.

Shinji then paused, not actually turning to look at Samara as he narrowed his eyes in thought, "Do you mind if I ask you something personal, ma'am?"

Samara turned her head to regard him, "I don't mind."

"It's just…do you ever get tired of it?"

"I don't understand."

"Aria once said that I was a shade of white, to the point where I let myself be used and ignored my own dreams and desires, and that I needed her essentially for balance. What I wanted to ask was, as someone who's been following the 'just' and 'straight and narrow' paths for as long as you have, have you ever been…_tempted_?"

"Tempted to stray from the 'straight and narrow', as you put it?" she asked, seeming briefly intrigued by the query.

"I know it's a personal thing to ask, but I feel you're the only one I can draw any comparison to. I often wonder if I'm betraying myself by essentially allowing myself to be a shade of grey."

Samara seemed to think on it, "There was another human I once knew who may have convinced me just slightly in the same way Aria convinced you. You might say that it is because of that person I retired once the war was over. I intend to do so once more when this situation is resolved."

He smiled weakly, "I suppose if even a Justicar can say it's okay to live a little…"

"Shinji, there is no crime in living for those we have left behind, so long as we remain true to who we are inside."

His smile solidified, "Thank you, Samara."

She merely inclined her head curtly in response.

Shinji started walking again, "Oh, and if you ever need any help 'enjoying yourself', drop me a line some time. I'll make sure to always keep a slot open for you." As he turned away, Shinji could've sworn he caught the barest makings of a smile flash over her features.

Shinji couldn't help but smirk slightly. He really was starting to get the hang of the consort business…

-Ω-

Tevos was sat in contemplative silence, having politely requested to be left alone to gather her thoughts.

The lights were dimmed in the quite sizable room. The suite was to say the least, quite high-class, especially for a place such as Omega. But if there was one thing Tevos had to hand to Aria, it was that she did know how to be a gracious hostess when she chose to.

Besides the desk, the large sofa, the ornate gold tapestry that covered one wall and the tinted window overlooking Omega, the room had been decorated with a lack of oppressiveness that was obviously intended to help the guest relax.

Tevos' silence was briefly interrupted by the sound of the door behind her opening. The councillor inclined her head slightly about but didn't actually turn to look at the newcomer, "Is there a problem, Samara?"

"No, I think she's quite alright…"

Tevos tensed and half pushed herself, looking back to find Shinji regarding her as the door closed behind him, "Hope you don't mind," he said, "I let myself in…"

Tevos settled back down and faced forwards once more, "I see you've picked up Aria's habit of not announcing yourself."

"Well your door wasn't locked in any serious way, so I assumed it was fine."

He watched her shoulders sink in what he assumed for her was reluctant amusement. He then stood there in silence, waiting for her to speak again.

"I need you to understand-"

"-That you can't let your personal opinion become an official stance on something without the full agreement of the council?" offered the consort for her.

She glanced back at him and then ahead once more, "…yes. You understood then?"

"Of course I understood. That didn't mean I didn't reserve the right to be offended though."

She nodded, "Of course. And I _am_ sorry. Offence was the last thing I wished to cause you. My official stance does not always reflect my personal opinion."

"You have one?"

She watched him as he circled around and dropped onto the sofa by her, "You think me incapable of separating my personal and professional lives?"

Shinji inclined his head, "No, but I think you've become very good at convincing people they're one and the same."

"I suppose I have…" she lamented, "I've been the asari representative to the Citadel Council for several hundred years now. Asari do not register time differently than humans, so I assume you can grasp what that means…"

"Yes…I understand how the long passage of time can affect you. I was in silence for so long I forgot I even existed; I essentially was one with the void around me. I suppose I can guess therefore that being in the same high profile job for hundreds of years can make you forget sometimes where you end and the job begins."

She nodded, "It is difficult to pull away some times, but I do force…_distractions_ upon myself to try and make sure I am still able to."

Shinji hummed, "I know. I've heard about some of your distractions. Many would be shocked."

Tevos shifted and didn't respond to the comment, "It might shock you to know that you are among the few who even refer to me by name. Many do not even _know_ my name. To most, I am merely 'The Asari Representative'."

Shinji shifted closer to her until he was just within her personal space and could feel her body heat radiating across the distance between them, "Would you like me to strip you of that title, just for tonight?"

She cocked her head and Shinji watched her left hand lift almost unconsciously up and rest down atop his right thigh as if it were her own. The sheer nonchalance with which she performed the action momentarily threw Shinji off his game, "I sense a euphemism waiting beyond that question."

Shinji nodded acceptingly, "I won't deny something like that may have been coming."

She shifted about so she was facing him slightly, "Then the answer is yes. And I believe you."

"Believe me?" he asked, even as her hand slid up his leg, across his chest and gripped onto his upper arm.

"I believe what you said about your past. And I also believe what Aria said about what may happen in the future. And I accepted that my life may be in danger by travelling here, but I came regardless."

Shinji watched her hand slide round to his shoulder blade.

She wanted to be the one in control. He could allow that for now, he supposed.

He smiled softly, turning his attention back to her, "You won't die, Tevos," he said quietly, echoing the words of another from so very long ago, "I'll be protecting you..."

"Then when the time comes, I'll make sure to put myself in your very capable hands…" she murmured even as she took hold of Shinji's right shoulder and gently pushed him back, sliding over him in the process.

Shinji watched Tevos carefully. Her confidence and actions were becoming bolder; she was breaking down her own restraints.

He felt the weight of her chest press against him, her fingers intertwining with his as she rested her forehead against his, "I wish to make a confession…" she whispered, her lips brushing his as she looked deep into the calm dark blue of his eyes.

"I'm listening…" he replied quietly, the flat of his fingertips sliding up her back and causing her to shiver as he undid the clasps on her dress.

Tevos paid no heed as her clothing slipped over her shoulders and down to the floor, revealing the simple black underwear she wore beneath, "I grazed your mind…during the incident on the Citadel."

A smile pulled at Shinji's mouth, "So you sampled me without my knowing?"

He felt her hand slip between them, undoing his clothes with oddly practiced hands, "Considering you had your tongue down my throat at the time, I felt you had little right to object."

He let her hands strip him down to his underwear before considering hers, "I suppose that's true. And what did you think?"

Tevos' hands paused, fingertips unconsciously gripping slightly on his bare chest, "You left…an impression."

Shinji couldn't stop the smirk from pulling at his mouth as his hand flicked free the clasp of her bra, his other hand slipping higher to gently caress the slightly scaled flesh around her neck. He felt the matriarch shudder involuntarily against him, "So you're saying I've been…_weighing_…on your mind?"

Her brow furrowed slightly. He felt the tips of her fingernails make contact with his skin as her grip tightened.

Shinji's right fingers slid down over her upper torso and the councillor whimpered as his palm encapsulated the swell of one breast. He hummed as he gently tugged one heavily swollen nipple between two fingers, the surrounding flesh already awash with goose bumps, "Have you been…_thinking…_about me?" he whispered, her reaction and the heat radiating against his thigh from between her legs confirmed it though.

Shinji could see her composure readying to crack, though she managed to keep her front up even as her fingertips caressed the front of his own underwear, tracing the growing outline of his arousal, massaging it gently in her palm until she elicited what she considered a satisfactory moan.

Shinji's groan turned into a grin as he leaned forwards, one hand slipping behind Tevos' back to massage her sensitive spot there, his right rhythmically kneading one breast.

His lips brushed her ear, "I _see_…" he whispered as she arched against him, "Thinking about me…_that much_. The question is: now that I'm here, what are you going to do about it," he let his lips trail round back to hers, hovering over them as his hand drifted down to gently trace the outline of the clefts of her sex with his fingers, "…_asari representative?_"

There was a flash of something in Tevos' eyes, of a final guard caving in. Shinji heard what almost sounded like a low growl emanate from the depths of her throat. His eyes narrowed a fraction of a millimetre.

'_Got you…'_

Tevos' left hand slammed him back down as she forced her lips to his. Her tongue felt burning hot as she invaded his mouth with it to savour his, her other hand pulling free the last, flimsy pieces of clothing that separated them.

Shinji was vacantly aware of the wonderfully sweet taste in his mouth as Tevos' fingernails dug almost painfully into his flesh. He was almost sure blood was drawn, but that was drowned out in rising desire as he kissed her hungrily back, feeding her need as two of his fingers plunged into the searing heat of her core, massaging her internally as his other hand worked systematically over the slightly coarse yet flawless contours of her skin.

Suddenly, her hands were gripping his, pinning them above his head as she straddled his outer hips. She released her mouth from his, keeping his bottom lip between her teeth however as she let the tip of his engorged manhood press against her entrance. She then applied gentle pressure, just enough to hold him there inside her. That was when she slid her mind inside of his, just as she sank down and drew him deep inside the gripping moist folds of her body.

Suddenly, through the strengthening mental connection and his shocked cry of pleasure, Shinji felt Tevos' mind focus until it sent a single whispered message throughout every corner of his mind like a voice on the wind…

'_Who's got who now?'_

A startled shudder went through Shinji's body as Tevos gyrated her hips, cradling his head to her breast as she swept her way into his mind.

While the matriarch's body was beautiful to look at, Shinji was staggered by the sheer magnificence of her mind. It was like a perfectly ordered library resting afloat a swirling ocean of sublimely controlled lust and passion the depths of which he couldn't fathom. As a musician, Shinji found the sheer artistry of her mind breathtaking. Where Aria's mind was flame and intensity, Tevos was order and balance. While one was fluid and the other fire, they were to say the least equal in terms of a capacity to desire. And while the councillor might not surge in Shinji's heart like the pirate did, he could see how anyone exposed to the matriarch could be brought to their knees.

He felt her swirl within him, the soul of a philosopher and a scholar sinking into a soul of perfect tranquillity; her perfect environment. Their pleasure was echoed and shared as Shinji's teeth sank down into one stiffened nipple while she toyed with his pleasure levels directly through his central nervous system.

She was winning.

This wasn't like with Aria or Tisala, realised Shinji. Tevos was indulging both lustfully and calculatingly within him, overwhelming him with both the depths of her mind and also her experience. He was starting to understand why elder asari rarely partook in sexual partnerships: they were probably just bored of playing a game they'd mastered so long ago, but that didn't mean of course they couldn't indulge once in a while.

It was time for him to start fighting back.

Shinji sat up forcefully, bringing himself face to face with Tevos and drawing his mouth to hers, "So be it…" he whispered, locking his lips to hers and pushing her down, thrusting deeply into her once more as her nails raked his back. He focused his mind as she lost herself momentarily to the sudden additional surge of pleasure; all the while he trained on that image in his head of her balanced consciousness.

Shinji channelled his will, focusing on that thin membrane between the calm and composed and the ocean of primal desire boiling below. He slowly began exerting himself within her upon that one weak spot. He felt the whimpering tremor of pleasure and momentary fear echo through Tevos as he slowly began eroding that barrier.

Tevos inhaled a sharp gasp as the last of her internal control began to slip. Her back arched, nails digging into the sofa on either side as she felt him deep inside both physically and mentally, trembles of dark energy playing over her. Without warning, Shinji flooded the complimenting pool of his mind into hers, right into that sea of her ecstasy.

Overwhelmed by the sheer volume of passion, the barrier broke, the ocean flooding the library as both sides clashed together in a storm of sexual energy.

Tevos screamed as her senses caved in, climax crashing over her and her partner at the same time. Her legs and arms clung about him desperately as he released deep inside of her, tears in his eyes as the almost unbearable force of her own pleasure crashed through every nerve in his body and in turn his back through her.

Unable to bear the added sensation, Tevos arched one last time under Shinji and collapsed limply into heaving gasps with the consort atop her, his entire body buzzing to the point of shaking with residual neural energy.

They regained their senses at some point later, their afterglow having been less a glow and more a blinding haze. Shinji was still resting on the councillor, his head in the small of her arm as she instinctively cradled him against her.

Shinji's eyes flicked about the room and he gasped when he sighted the Justicar standing silently over him.

His urge was to cover himself up, but having nothing to hand, he settled on pressing up against Tevos' side, stammering incoherently as he realised that using the breast of a post-orgasmic asari councillor wasn't the best way to hide one's modesty.

Tevos arched her head about to regard the other asari. She showed no embarrassment, and to Shinji's surprise, neither did she make a single move to cover herself up. She had suddenly become remarkably composed despite the fact Shinji could hear her heart still racing in her chest.

Samara inclined her head, "I heard a loud disturbance and was forced to enter, though it would appear my need to intrude was…_unnecessary_. My apologies, Councillor, and to you also, Consort Ikari."

"It's quite alright, Samara. It was…my fault. I am sorry for putting you in such an embarrassing situation."

"There is no need to apologise. If you will excuse me?"

Tevos nodded and the Justicar turned to leave, nodding once at the councillor and then at Shinji, though her nod in his direction was more a curious tilting of her head, as if assessing something. The look vanished faster than it appeared and just like that, Samara was gone from the room.

"Well my face is red," muttered Shinji, "But she must've known what was going on, so why do you suppose…that…she…" his voice died in his throat as he surveyed the rest of the room.

The entire suite looked like a bomb had struck it. Right from the spot they were laying in, everything had been hurled outwards in a perfect sphere around them, as if they'd been ground zero for a large explosion. The room was, for lack of a better word, trashed.

"What the hell happened here?" gaped Shinji.

Tevos shifted nervously against him and Shinji looked to her, "was it you?" he asked, mouth still open.

Her eyes flicked to him and away again, "I may have…lost momentary control of my biotic abilities. It would appear that someone who shall remain nameless thought it wise to attack my self-restraints mid-coitus."

Shinji gulped, "So…dangerous, was it? What I did, I mean."

"Shall we just say that it is lucky the force was channelled outwards and not directly through your central nervous system."

"I'll keep that in mind in future." His eyes then narrowed at her as he smirked slightly, "though don't think I don't know how much you enjoyed it. Just when _was_ the last time you dropped all of your restraints like that?" he asked, his hand tenderly and affectionately caressing the dark blue flesh of her upper arm.

"It has been…a while." She admitted, "Our abilities tend to get stronger with age, so it becomes essential that asari, especially matriarchs, learn to control certain aspects of our emotions."

"Not unless you're standing in the middle of an empty room anyways." He muttered, "And don't worry about the mess; I'm good at cleaning up and even better at apologising."

He then leaned up, cradling her face to kiss her briefly, letting her return her arms about him once more, "I assume-"

"-you have me until morning," cut in Shinji gently, "it's just a dream until then. Those are my rules."

Tevos rolled over until she was atop him again, straddling his lap. Her dark fingers ran slowly down one cheek, "I am finding this dream to be very pleasant, consort Ikari…"

"It's my pleasure to serve…"

And so she began once more. And Shinji knew now that Aria was right: Tevos was no easy client. He was going to be very tired come morning…

-Ω-

Shinji awoke to a very pleasant sensation. There was a pair of arms about him, and someone was gently tilting his chin upwards. He let out a startled moan as someone kissed him, their chin ushering his mouth open to allow them to slip their tongue inside, sweeping aside his drowsiness in an instant.

He knew the taste before even opening his eyes, 'Aria…'

He moaned, looking up to find his future bondmate sitting over him.

Aria was looking wryly down at him, "I'd ask how it went, but…" she trailed off, looking about herself, "I hope it was worth the repair bill."

He slipped gently free of Tevos' arms, rousing her with a gentle caress, "I'd like to think she thought so…" he looked back to Aria, "You weren't kidding about the warning, by the way."

She smirked, "Told you. I thought it best you deal with any built up stress she might have before I slip in to enjoy the fun."

"Sure," he said, smiling weakly as he sat up to rest his head against hers, "make me do all the work…"

She patted him on the cheek affectionately as she settled aside him "That's what you're here for…" she looked to Tevos and then back to Shinji, "A moment?"

He smiled and extended a hand toward the councillor, "Be my guest."

She smirked and leaned over, tilting Tevos' head up to fully rouse her in the same way she had him.

Shinji smiled as Tevos tensed, eyes going wide with surprise. Not that he blamed her, waking up with another asari's tongue exploring your mouth would probably leave you startled, not that Shinji didn't find the sight immensely pleasant.

Tevos' eyes quickly glazed over. Her flexed out hands clenched closed, gripping the torn fabric of the sofa in her fists as Aria's free hand played idly over Shinji's chest.

Aria pulled back a moment later to allow Tevos up for some air. The matriarch took several long breaths in turn, her eyes going to Aria and then Shinji before settling on the ceiling above "Well…I will admit that this is certainly not an _unpleasant_ way to start the day…"

Shinji stood up to assist Aria with relieving herself of her coat, "Well I do always aim to please," purred the pirate. She then leaned toward Shinji, inclining his chin up to taste him once more and also to graze some memories of the previous night out of his always willing mind.

The instant her lips brushed his however, the ground shook with a mild tremor, the sound of a distant explosion audible within the room.

Tevos sat straight up, arousal and fatigue vanishing instantly under a mask of professionalism that was a stark contrast to her current state of undress.

Shinji felt Aria tense against him, her fingernails cutting into the palm of the hand he currently had entwined with hers. He was also glad that he didn't have his tongue in her mouth right then as he was sure she'd have bitten right through it in frustration. The dark look in her eyes briefly chilled the consort.

"Somebody is going to die for this…" she whispered, clearly more than a little upset at the prospect of being _double_ azure-blocked.

Shinji slid away and quickly donned his clothes and, more importantly, his Omnitool, "What's going on?" he asked, opening a channel to Tisala on board the Thunder Child as Samara entered alertly just as Tevos began to clothe herself.

"I don't know," came her voice from the other side, "The explosion was entirely internal, but the long range sensor buoys are showing numerous unidentified contacts on a direct course for Omega."

Shinji frowned, "Internal? But that can't be. That would mean they're already…" his eyes widened and turned to Aria, who was already alert and checking her own Omnitool, "…already on board."

"Whoever these fuckers are, they've taken out one of the secondary processing cores and one of the backup fusion reactors."

"What are those responsible for?" asked Shinji.

She shook her head, "The reactor is just a supplement for providing extra power to the station's kinetic barriers, but the processing core was a Cerberus installation."

"Oh, don't tell me," groaned Shinji, a hand on his face.

Aria chose not to go along with that request, "It's used for coordination of the Cerberus-installed defence cannons."

"They could've been sneaking indoctrinated forces on board for weeks, " said Shinji, "or perhaps just indoctrinating people already here in secret. Those gangs who tried to take over could've just been a test group."

Suddenly, another explosion rocked the streets of Omega and Shinji could see great plumes of smoke rise up over the tops of the buildings, "It's starting…" he breathed.

"I can't raise the bunker," said Aria as she tried opening a communications link.

"This is Moran," came the Talon commander's urgent voice, the sound of gunfire and explosions was clear in the background, "We've got a slight situation here, Aria!"

"You don't say," she snapped, "please clarify."

There was a pause as several gunshots sounded over the link, obviously Moran was more than a little occupied, "I barely got clear when it happened."

"When what happened, Moran?"

"It was one of the bunker technicians. He walked right in wearing heavy armour packed with high explosives and then just set them off in the middle of the facility. I'm not sure how many people got out alive. I've got reports of fighting in the control tower. A group of traffic controllers apparently just went berserk and started opening fire and are now being reinforced by gang members."

"What about you?"

He grunted, "_Fine._ We've fortified our positions at Talon headquarters and outside the bunker, but there are hundreds of them and more coming. You won't be able to make it here by yourself."

"They'll be going for the EVA," said Aria, her fingers a blur almost as she sent orders out, "I'm going to Afterlife. I can use it as a command centre during emergencies and it makes a good defensive position. Let's go…"

"No…" said Shinji.

Aria stopped and turned back to him, "What?" she asked, as if unsure she'd heard him correctly.

"I've got to get to Unit-01. You go to Afterlife. The storage bay is well defended. I should be safe there."

Aria ground her teeth slightly, "If you think I'm letting you-"

"-I will accompany Shinji," said Samara, "It is now my duty to ensure that the Evangelion does not fall into enemy hands."

Aria continued glowering when, to her visible surprise, Samara expression softened, and she spoke again, "I will do all I can to keep your bondmate safe, Aria T'Loak."

Aria gritted her teeth, "On the code…"

"Upon the code, I swear it," finished Samara evenly and without hesitation.

Aria took a calming breath and then turned her attention to Tevos, "You," she said, reaching behind her back and tossing the councillor a pistol, "with me. And I do hope you haven't forgotten how to use one of those."

"I am relatively sure I can reacquaint myself with the skill should the situation call for it."

"Good girl," she then turned back to Shinji…but no words came. Shinji could tell she wanted to say something, but it was another matter of not showing weakness in present company.

Shinji just smiled and inclined his head, "I'll see you later on, Aria."

She nodded, "Make sure that you do. Your _appointment _isn't complete yet."

A weak smile pulled at his mouth as she turned and departed with the councillor. He then turned to look at Samara as he pulled his coat on and double checked his weapons, "Shall we?"

She inclined her head and they departed together.

-Ω-

"EDEN," said Shinji through his Omnitool as they emerged onto the deserted streets, his sidearm drawn. The sounds of muffled shouts and distant explosions echoed quietly. Shinji felt the atmosphere was deceptively calm.

"Reading you, Shinji-kun." responded EDEN, "What's your status?"

"I'm on my way to the EVA cage with Justicar Samara. What about you?"

"Aboard the Thunder Child, in all aspects. Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine, you know me. Just be ready in case I need your…_assistance_."

"Understood. Be safe, Shinji-kun."

"That much I can't promise. Ikari out."

Shinji noted that Samara had yet to draw her own weapon, "We…could be attacked at any moment, you know."

She nodded, "It's very likely."

He glanced at the assault rifle and machine pistol she had holstered with her, "Aren't you going to arm yourself?"

Samara kept surveying their surroundings as she spoke, "I prefer to utilise my biotic capabilities first whenever possible."

"I see…"

They walked on in silence for a while. Obviously the quarters Tevos had been assigned weren't a designated target as they hadn't run into any enemies yet.

"Might I ask a question?" as peaceful as her tone was, Shinji still jumped at the sound of Samara's voice.

"W-what is it, Samara?"

"I have been thinking on what we discussed yesterday."

"This really isn't the best time to be asking about an appointment…"

"What is your opinion of me?"

Shinji blinked and arched his head to look at her, "Samara?"

"Tevos mentioned in passing that you possessed the ability to 'read people'."

"And since I struck a chord last night, you want to know what it is I see when I look at you?"

She inclined her head in acknowledgement.

"Besides just a beautiful face, of course…"

"An amorous advance?" mused the Justicar, "Interesting…"

"I was just trying to break the ice, but interesting in what way?"

"Normally I would just ignore such a thing. It is without ego that I say I have received many such comments in my time, but this is one of the first times in many centuries that I will simply say…_ thank you_, for the compliment."

Shinji blinked, and then remembered what she had said about herself in passing the previous night, "You're welcome, and you want to know what I see when I look at you?"

She nodded.

"I see myself," said Shinji, and the statement seemed to take the Justicar by surprise, Shinji continued, "I see someone who makes themselves do something because they feel they owe it; I see someone who is trying to accept that maybe, just _maybe_, their time is served, and perhaps it's time to start living again. That is what I see. I think perhaps you might just need a lesson or two on how to live selfishly again…"

Samara was quiet for a while as they continued walking, "I see…"

"Remind me to refer you to Aria some time. Give her one night and a bottle of Noverian Rum and you'll feel like you were a hundred years old again."

Samara's brow furrowed, a rare change in expression for her, "Perhaps…I will."

Shinji couldn't help but be startled, but then felt a smirk pull at his mouth. That one statement alone probably took every fibre of rebelliousness in Samara's being. It was a start, he realised, but a start was all he needed…

Aria's parting words from earlier about an unfinished appointment suddenly came to him, and he found a possibility springing to mind.

It was _quite_ the possibility. It was a possibility that clicked a switch that seems to exist in the mind of every human being alive. It was the switch that makes you to smirk like the super villain who has the secret agent tied to his unnecessarily complicated execution device.

"Samara…" said Shinji, looking ahead as he walked.

"Yes?"

"I don't know about you, but I suddenly _really_ feel like living to see tonight."

"I sense there is more to that statement than a mere expression of survival instinct."

"Maybe there is. It depends…"

"On what?"

"On whether or not you like massages."

Samara went quiet, as if warring on whether or not to respond, "I am not opposed to them, though it has been a while."

"A while is too long. I've changed my mind, now is the perfect time to book an appointment, and you just got booked in."

Samara seemed almost bemused, "I…I would…"

"I would of course be _grievously _insulted should you decline," cut in Shinji almost curtly.

Samara nodded, "If that is the case, then I believe there is no other option but to accept. What will be entailed, if you do not mind my asking."

That smirk appeared once more, "Oh, it's a surprise…"

Shinji walked on, feeling uplifted despite the situation.

He was the last, Shinji realised; the very last of his kind. He had truly fought to the last and won out in the end for those around him. And he'd paid the price for that through isolation and the knowledge he'd have to begin alone and anew.

Once this was over, he thought, maybe he really would actually claim his reward, and start living properly, just as Aria had promised to help him do.

But there were matters to attend to first…

-Ω-

The first sign of their enemy was a trio of deranged human gang members, their indoctrinated eyes vacant as they charged up the street towards the pair, wielding what appeared to be the OmniBlade equivalent of machetes.

Shinji moved to take aim, only for a flicker of dark energy to appear out the corner of his eye and suddenly the men were batted away like a group of annoying flies into a nearby wall where they slumped to the floor in a useless heap.

Samara spared them a curious glance as she passed. She didn't even bother to look up as she demolished a hastily thrown together barricade with a disproportionately large shockwave, sending a half dozen hidden indoctrinated forces flying in various directions as a result.

'Okay,' thought Shinji, lowering his gun slightly, 'So…just follow the walking wrecking ball.'

A shadow appeared in Shinji's peripheral vision and he swung his weapon about to take out the batarian charging him from his flank, only for an invisible blur to knock the indoctrinated alien sideways and down to the ground where Samara quickly finished him off.

There was another blur in the air, as what looked like an invisible leg roundhouse kicked an attacking turian, lifting him off his feet. Two more lightning fast blows struck the alien before he could even touch down once more. He then dropped to the ground, unconscious.

The blur then materialised into a familiar, black-clothed figure.

"Kasumi?" gaped Shinji.

The thief smirked, "You thought I'd be on the Thunder Child while all the fun was happening down here?" she turned to the asari and beamed a smile, "Hello, Samara. Don't mind me joining you, do you?"

Despite the fact the woman was a thief, Shinji saw Samara's expression soften almost into a smile, _almost_, "It is good to see you again, Kasumi. And no, I do not mind."

"Well that's a relief, "she chimed, turning back to Shinji, "Shall we carry on then?" she asked.

Shinji nodded and Kasumi vanished once more as both he and Samara continued moving.

Shinji followed Samara to the end of the street and she quickly ducked under cover, grabbing him by the front of his coat and dragging him down behind the barrier with her.

Shinji heard the sounds of gunfire up ahead at the storage area wind down slowly to silence.

Kasumi reappeared at their side as Shinji peered over the top of the barrier.

Downed Atlases and corpses littered the streets ahead; the only ones remaining upright were a spattering of indoctrinated enemies amongst the flames and smoke.

From behind some of the wreckage, a face Shinji knew from the dossier files he'd read emerged. She surveyed the scene with what he could only describe as perverse satisfaction.

Shinji gritted his teeth and opened a secure channel back to Afterlife, "This is Shinji," he whispered, "We've reached the storage bay area. There's no sign of any remaining allied forces. Unit-01 has been taken…by Jona Sederis."

-Ω-

Tisala was sat at the helm of the Thunder Child when the long range alert came through, "Here they come…"

Streams of blue light illuminated space as dozens of outfitted pirate vessels dropped out of FTL in formation about Omega.

If sound travelled in space then it would've ripped out eardrums as hell was unleashed from both sides. Mass accelerator cannons and laser defense systems began firing indiscriminately upon opposing ships as the opening volleys were released.

The Thunder Child's main cannon fired, decapitating a pair of attacking mercenary ships as she danced through space to prevent herself being targeted effectively.

"Most of these ships barely have anything in the way of defensive armour or shielding," called Garrus from his console as the ship rocked from the occasional close shot, both pilot and AI working to weave about the battlefield and avoid enemy fire, "They've been outfitted almost entirely with high-end weaponry."

Tisala nodded, "It's weighing them down considerably in terms of power usage. Their crippled mobility is making them open targets. What are they thinking?"

The ship shook as a dreadnought class mass driver round sliced through a pair of nearby Blue Suns vessels. The firing ship was swiftly destroyed in retaliation, but it had created a gap in their lines that they had to swiftly spread out to compensate for.

"Kamikaze…" commented EDEN as her platform gripped hold of a nearby wall bar, "They're not supposed to survive, only to cut a path."

"That's why the defensive cannons were taken offline first, " announced Tisala, "they match us evenly in number, but unlike us they don't care about seeing another day, just living long enough to inflict as much damage as possible."

"It's hit and run…" said EDEN, "Once they punch a hole they'll be going for the station and then running."

"Once they have the EVA, you mean?" said Tisala as she fought to right the ship, the port cannons punching through a strafing enemy vessel.

"They don't have enough forces here to cut a path, secure the station and then extract the EVA, so they're doing it like a thief would: Cause a distraction, then slip your main group in and take what it is you need and retreat before the enemy numbers overwhelm you."

Tisala nodded, "There are enough Talons and mercenaries on Omega to crush the forces currently rebelling, but it will take time. But the question is: just who is their 'main group'. And how do they expect to take something the size of the EVA with any kind of speed?"

The battle was going badly, EDEN knew, at least in terms of the big picture. They would win, for sure, but their forces would be weakened.

It was as the enemy numbers thinned to a mere handful and the Thunder Child's turret swerved about to slice through one of the last remaining enemy destroyers that things took a drastic turn.

Three flashes of light lit up space and Tisala registered a series of Mass Effect explosions a thousand miles off their bow.

Four of their ships had just been destroyed.

"What the…" Tisala said, trailing off rather than outright cursing.

"I'm detecting fifteen unknown objects coming out of FTL on the edge of the combat area," announced EDEN, "The sensor signals do not match anything on records…"

"Show me…" said the asari.

The screen blinked up and a series of hulking, writhing, shadowy objects were revealed floating slowly in space. Most were diminutive, at least in comparison to the three gargantuan specimens that appeared to be leading the pack.

Silence slowly blanketed the bridge.

"But those are…" breathed Tisala, "It was ordered to remain classified, but I know what those are. They aided us at the end of the war."

"Leviathans…" intoned EDEN as she regarded the creatures, "though their appearance doesn't precisely match what is on the records. It would appear they have been making…_upgrades_."

It was true. Each of the creatures had been heavily augmented with what appeared to be extremely advanced cybernetic technology, and it was clear that the blasts had come from the creatures.

"But they don't even _look_ like Leviathans anymore," breathed Tisala, her voice echoing the fear of the assembled crew, "With all that alteration, now they just look like…look like…"

Garrus narrowed his eyes at the great beasts as they formed up their line to begin the attack, "…_Reapers_."

-Ω-

_To be continued…_

-XA-

[A/N] and so we come to a belated end, sorry once more loyal readers, I'll try to be less tardy in future and hope the wait was at least partially worth it. But it seems there is little in the way of curing depression than writing sex and space battles so bully there. In case it's not been made obvious, yes, the story is reaching toward its climax, but as usual, no spoilers…

Catch you in Chapter 25: Keter


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